


Visionary

by ZinniaRoseStark



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Baby Werewolves, Biting, Breeding, Choking, Daddy Issues, Derek has a daughter, Derek is Good with Kids, Derek is a Tease, Derek-centric, F/M, Full Moon, Kinky Derek, Knotting, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mating Rituals, OC has daddy issues, Pack Dynamics, Pack Family, Possessive Behavior, Pregnancy, Protective Derek, Werewolf Courting, Werewolf Mates, Werewolves, derek has a wife, derek's a dad, i'm not telling who, loving Derek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-02-17
Packaged: 2018-05-11 00:15:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 26
Words: 28,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5606347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZinniaRoseStark/pseuds/ZinniaRoseStark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek and Aurora had a rough start. After her father was blinded by power, she flees with her mother, only to end up in Beacon Hills under the care of Talia Hale. She finds her mate Derek, and leaves with him after graduation to New York with their Alpha, Laura. They eventually get married, then along comes a baby. Eight years later she returns to Beacon Hills, and the pack finds out there’s more to Derek than they thought.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

I was born into a powerful pack. My father was a well respected Alpha, and my mother was well respected as his mate. We were based in Colorado, but my father spent much of his time in California on business. Sometimes we went with him, but most of the time my mother had to stay and look after the pack in my father's absence.

I was fourteen when it happened, just barely having developed my werewolf abilities. My father was blinded by rage and power. My mother and I ran, travelling all over the country, looking for a new pack. But once word spread of what my father had done, no one wanted us. So we spent the next year and a half wandering as Omegas, trying to keep ourselves as hidden as possible.

We managed until we were found outside of Las Vegas. My mother was killed by the hunters, but I got away, wandering North through the desert and eventually the forest, unknowingly heading towards the same town my father lost himself in.

Talia Hale was the one who found me. Dirty, exhausted, grief stricken. I was dying and she took me back to her home, to her pack. She nursed me back to health, treating me like one of her own. She allowed me to join her pack and her family, becoming a mother to me in the absence of my own. Offering me something I hadn't had in a long time.

A home.

And that's when I met Derek. Talia said there was a reason I was drawn here, and she quickly found out that reason when I met Derek.

I knew he didn't like me from the start. I was just some Omega his parents take in because she had a feeling about me. I had ruined his life. He wanted freedom. He wanted to do whatever he wanted, not to be tied down by the laws of nature.

You see, mates are a rare thing. Two people, perfectly crafted for one another. Sounds like heaven right? Wrong. Derek and I were mates, and he hated me. Talia told me to give him time, let him mature. He'd figure it out soon enough. And she told me about Paige. What Derek had done. I recognized his problem immediately. He was grieving still. It had been months, but you can't get over someone's death that fast. Especially not someone you love.

So I tried to be nice to him, his mother putting us together as much as possible. I still had little to no control over my powers, and Talia took it upon herself to appoint Derek as my teacher. She had younger werewolves to take care of, so it was perfect. At least to her anyways. Derek didn't have that much control either, so Peter wound up babysitting the two of us. We didn't spend much time bonding, just trying not to tear each other apart.

But then, something about Derek changed. He was gone almost all the time, barely at home, always disappearing right after school. I didn't think much about it, as I spent most of my time away from him, at least until the night when everything changed.

"Come on, Derek. It'll be fun." I said as I passed him the basketball on the court, watching as he made a perfect shot.

"What's so fun about a band concert?" He asked, passing me the ball.

"I'm playing in it. You should come and support me. Besides, your parents are going."

"Because they feel obligated."

I dribbled the basketball, shooting from the free-throw line. "You should feel obligated too." I passed the basketball back to him. "I'm gonna head home. You coming?"

"Nah. I'll catch you later."

"Okay."

I grabbed my backpack, leaving the school. It was getting dark fast, winter coming quickly. I ran out to the car that was waiting, climbing in the passenger seat beside Peter.

"Derek coming?"

"No. He said he'd be home later."

Peter sighed before heading out towards the Hale house. I looked through the English book in my lap, trying to distract myself. I knew Derek hated me, but that didn't mean I hated him too. I cared about him. It hurt me a little, the way he pushed me away so easily.

Peter pulled up outside the house, voices floating out, many of them children. Peter and I walked into the house, greeted by several children running down the stairs. I could smell dinner wafting from the kitchen, and went upstairs to put my stuff in my bedroom. Cora ran out of her room, nearly bumping into me as I left mine, everyone in a haste to get downstairs for dinner.

I sat in my usual spot, across from Peter, Derek's spot empty next to him. Laura's spot was empty next to me as well. I could feel Talia's questioning glance on me, but I had already told her what I knew. I left Derek at the school and that was that.

After dinner, everyone had spread out, most of us older kids on our own doing homework. I was laid out on my bed, fast asleep on my Science book when I smelled it. It roused me from my sleep, the smell of smoke. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, my hearing picking up the sounds of screams. I could see the smoke now, billowing in under my bedroom door. I shot up off my bed, running to the door. The metal handle burned my skin, but it healed quickly. Flames had engulfed the backside of the house, quickly making their way towards the front. I covered my face and ran towards the staircase, but a beam fell right in front of me, blocking my path. I coughed, inhaling smoke as I desperately looked for a way around the beam.

"Aurora?" I heard a voice call.

"Peter?" I called back, coughing as more smoke traveled into my lungs.

A figure came out of the smoke on the other side of the beam.

"I'm gonna get you out of here, Aurora." He shouted.

"Peter, no!"

But he didn't listen. He grabbed the beam, his skin sizzling as it touched the fire. He lifted the beam enough so I could slip beneath it. I wrapped my arm around Peter, pulling him down the stairs, out into the cool air. Both of us collapsed on the dirt, my lungs constricting as they breathed in clear air. I coughed, my body healing itself. I looked down at Peter, not seeing his chest moving.

"Peter?"

The whole right side of his body was burned from where he'd held the beam up. Tears trailed down my face as the house grew eerily silent. I laid on the front lawn, my head against Peter's chest as sirens grew closer to the burning house. They were dead. All of them.

They found eight bodies. I was the only one still conscious that had come from the house. Peter was alive, but in a comatose state from his burns. I was sitting on a hospital bed in the ER, being questioned as the staff tried to help any one of my adopted family that they could, but most of them were too far gone.

I used the phone at the desk to call Laura, telling her to find Derek and bring him to the hospital. I didn't tell her what happened, leaving that for the police. I stayed on my hospital bed, waiting for them to clear me so I could go. The smell of sickness and death in the hospital, as well as the burned flesh from my family was making me sick. I knew Derek and Laura wouldn't want to see me, so I slipped out after they let me go, breathing in the fresh, rain soaked air.

I didn't know where I was going, but I just needed to walk. Twice now I had lost my family. It was becoming a worrisome pattern, one I didn't want to continue. I was soaked to the bone, but I kept walking, not worrying about the cold because I was too numb to feel it anyways.

The rain had stopped for the moment, but the air was still chilled. I barely noticed the car pull up next to me, the door opening, warm hand grabbing mine, stopping my movements. I spun around, surprised that someone had snuck up on me.

"Hey. We've been looking everywhere for you." Derek said, taking in my soaking wet appearance.

"Why? Your family's at the hospital. You should be there with them."

"You're family too. You're pack." He squeezed my hand. "You, me, Laura. We're all that's left." I could hear his voice break on the last word.

I stared at him, watching as he blinked back tears. I pushed aside any hurt I had felt, any anger I held towards the way he treated me, and I hugged him. I held him as he cried in my arms, in the middle of a street. Maybe things would change after all.


	2. Eight Years Later

She was running. Her lithe body slipped between the trees, exhaustion eating away at her limbs, but she kept running, kept pushing on for the sake of the four year old girl in her arms. She had come clear across the country for this, clear from New York to California to find him. 

Their relationship was complicated. They had married when they were 18, after the fire that she had almost died in, had Peter not risked his life to save her. The newlyweds moved to Brooklyn with Laura, their new alpha. 

Their daughter was just barely two when Laura left for Beacon Hills. Derek had left not long after Laura stopped calling, saying he was only going to stay until he figured out what happened to her. 

It had been almost two years since she’d seen Derek. Three months since she’d heard from him. So, she took matters into her own hands. 

That’s where we find her now, dodging trees in the preserve, desperately trying to get into town without being noticed. 

But no such luck. Gunshots rang in the air, bullets hitting the trees around her as she ran. One hit her in her back, sending her to the ground. 

“Run, Rylen!” She shouted, pushing her daughter away from her body. 

“Mommy!” She shouted, her green eyes wide. 

“Go Rylen! Find daddy.” 

She watched her daughter’s retreating form, already feeling the wolfsbane weakening her system. The she-wolf let out a high pitched howl, hoping someone would hear her. 

Her howl faded, her world quickly growing dark around the edges. She crawled forward, wanting to get as far away from the hunters as possible. She could hear them in the trees, moving closer to her position. If they found her, they’d kill her. 

She pulled herself into a sitting position behind a tree, wincing as the wound in her back scraped against the bark. She threw her head back, letting out one last weak howl, getting cut off as black blood surged up her throat, seeping out of her mouth. The hunters were getting closer and she was in no shape to run. She needed help fast. 

Her help came in the form of a howl, a deep, angry warning that had the hunters steps faltering. She smiled, relaxing against the tree. She knew that howl. He was coming. 

*******

Everything was red. It was wet and stuck to everything. The walls, the floor, my bare feet. There were bodies everywhere, and in the center of it all was my father. He was covered, head to toe in what I realized too late was blood. 

“Aurora!” I heard my mother’s cries. “Aurora run!”

My father turned to me, a crazed look in his eyes, canines out, blood dripping out of his mouth and down his chin. Hands grabbed my shoulders, pulling me out of the room and away from the house. Away from home. 

*******

It was the growls that brought me back, growls and gunshots that were quickly fading into the distance. 

“Aurora?” A figure appeared next to me, hands everywhere, trying to find the source of the black blood that was staining everything. 

“Derek?” I breathed out, staring up at him with hooded eyes. 

“What are you doing here?” He asked, wrapping one arm around my back and the other behind my knees. 

“Looking for you.” I said, wincing as he picked me up, hurrying off in the direction I was heading before I was interrupted. 

“Where’s Rylen?” 

“I sent her to look for you.” 

“You sent our four year old off by herself?” Derek stopped, staring down at me. 

“She’s a smart girl. She’s probably...at the...police...” Everything suddenly got blurry as more pain spread from my back. 

“Hey, stay with me.” Derek said as he quickened his pace. “We’re almost there.” 

*******

Derek ran through the woods as his wife slipped back into unconsciousness. He had been in the middle of a pack meeting when he heard the howl, Scott and Liam hearing it as well. He had left them to finish the meeting, not wanting to reveal them yet. He had kept them a secret for this long, and he didn’t want to risk putting them in danger. 

He was almost to the preserve when he heard the second, weaker howl that quickly died off. Panic flooded his system as he moved to all fours, flying through the trees, following the smell of gunpowder and blood. 

He wanted to tear the hunters limb from limb as he came upon his mate, bloody, unconscious, slumped against a tree. His first instinct was to remove the threat, and so he did, sneaking around to the side to take them out one by one. But they quickly caught on, the remaining hunters running from the area. He wanted to chase them down, but the smell of blood caught him and he was at his mate’s side in a second. A part of him panicked, catching the scent of his daughter, but not seeing her anywhere. The hunters couldn’t have taken her, Aurora would have fought harder, had they even placed a hand on her. There probably wouldn’t be hunters left if they had. 

*****

To say Alan was surprised was an understatement. He was surprised to see Derek, for one, and he was also surprised to see the woman in his arms. 

“That’s a face I haven’t seen in a long time.” 

“She’s been shot. By hunters.” 

Alan opened the door, letting Derek back into the exam room. Alan cleared the table, letting Derek lay her down. Derek strippd off her shirt, revealing not one but two bullet wounds in her back, black blood seeping out of both. 

“I thought you said she was in New York?” Alan asked the werewolf who was pacing in his exam room while he worked on burning the wolfsbane out of the werewolf on the table. 

“She was. She was supposed to stay there until I came back.” 

“When were you planning on going back?” 

“Originally, it was after I buried my sister. I was going to get some stuff from the house and then go back. But then Scott getting bit and the Alpha, and Peter...I ended up staying longer.”

“A lot longer. It’s been almost two years since you’ve seen her. That’s a long time for mates to be apart.” 

“I know. But I wanted to keep them safe.” 

“Them?” Alan looked up at Derek for a moment. 

Derek paused in his pacing. It was only a matter of time before they found out now. “Yeah. We have a four year old daughter.” 

“Congratulations. Four years late, but still. That must be exciting.”

“You have no idea. She’s a little too much like her mother.” 

The mention of his daughter had him pacing again. He was conflicted. His werewolf instincts were telling him to stay with his mate, but his fatherly instincts were telling him to find his daughter. But he knew she was a smart girl, and she wouldn’t wander the streets alone. Hopefully. She didn’t have full werewolf abilities yet, but her sense of smell and her hearing was developing quickly. She knew both her parents scents, but he prayed she’d use her common sense and go to the police. 

Derek had made up his mind and was about to leave, knowing his mate would be safe here, when his phone rang. He frowned at the caller I.D. before answering. 

“Hello?” 

_ ‘Hey, Derek, it’s Sheriff Stilinski. I’ve got a little girl here who goes by Rylen who’s been looking for you.’ _

He felt relief flood his body. She had used her common sense. She was safe and in good hands. 

“I’m at the Animal Clinic. I’ll be right over.” 


	3. Rylen

Sheriff Stilinski was on his way back to the station when he saw the girl walking on the sidewalk. She couldn’t have been older than four, walking by herself without a care in the world. He pulled the patrol car over, not quite believing his eyes. 

“Hey, sweetheart.” He called and the girl turned around, looking up at him with big, green eyes. “What are you doing out here by yourself?” He squatted down so they were looking each other in the eyes. 

“I’m looking for my daddy. Mommy sent me to find him” 

“Do you know your daddy’s name?” 

“Derek Hale.” 

The Sheriff’s stomach dropped to his feet. He looked for any joke on the girl’s face, but she was serious. He ran a hand down his face before looking back to the girl. 

“Why don’t you come back to the station with me and I’ll give your daddy a call, okay?” 

“Okay.” She took his outstretched hand, letting him lead her to his patrol car. 

He got her situated in the back before rushing to the station. He got a lot of questioning glances as he walked the little girl to his office, Scott and Stiles both already there. 

“Hey, Dad, we-” Stiles stopped short at the sight of the girl. “Who’s this?” 

“I’m Rylen. Who are you?” She said, moving towards the two teens. 

“I’m Stiles. This is Scott.” Scott waved at the girl. 

“Scott, do you have Derek’s number?” Sheriff Stilinski asked the teen. 

“Yeah.” Scott dug out his phone. 

It rang a few times before Derek answered. 

_ ‘Hello?’ _

“Hey, Derek, it’s Sheriff Stilinski. I’ve got a little girl here who goes by Rylen who’s been looking for you.” 

_ ‘I’m at the animal clinic. I’ll be right over.’ _

Rylen made herself at home in one of the chairs across from the Sheriff as they stared at each other. Scott and Stiles were unusually quiet as they stared down at the little girl. 

“You don’t think she’s...?” Stiles murmured to Scott, glancing at the girl. 

“Can’t be. Maybe a sibling or relative that survived the fire.” 

That idea quickly changed when the door to the office opened. 

*****

Derek made it to the Sheriff’s Station in no time. He was let in without any questions, making a beeline for the Sheriff’s door, ignoring the glances he got every time he showed up at the Station. He opened the door, sensing the unknowing tension from the three men in the room. 

“Daddy!” 

A mess of dark hair and small limbs slid out of a chair and attached herself to his leg. 

“Hey, pup.” He bent down, picking her up, ignoring the baffled looks on the other three male’s faces. 

“Where’s mommy?” She asked him, looking up into his green eyes, much like her own. 

“Mommy’s getting patched up.” He shifted the girl on his hip before stepping towards the Sheriff. 

“Thank you.” He shook the Sheriff’s hand, a baffled look still on the three men’s faces. 

“No problem.” 

The three watched Derek leave with the girl. 

“What the hell was that?” Stiles was the first to break the silence. 

“I think there’s something Derek isn’t telling us.” Scott said. 

*****

Derek drove back to the Animal Clinic carefully, not wanting to risk anything since they didn’t have Rylen’s car seat with them. He’d have to get another one. Then again, he’d have to get a lot of things. He didn’t know if they even brought clothes. Aurora was awake, but not in the mood to answer questions. Her maternal instinct was raging and she needed to know if her pup was safe. 

He carried Rylen into the Animal Clinic, going back to the exam room where Aurora was putting on her shirt. 

“There she is.” Aurora said, holding her arms out. 

“Mommy!” Rylen said, reaching out for her mother. 

“So this is Rylen.” Alan said. 

“This is Rylen.” Aurora said, turning to face Alan. “Rylen this is Dr. Deaton.” 

“Hi.” Rylen said, waving at him with. 

“Hi Rylen. It’s nice to meet you.” He turned his attention back to Aurora. “She looks like her father.” 

“That she does. But everything else she gets from her mother.” She adjusted Rylen on her hip a little. 

“Don’t strain yourself. You’ll be better in a few hours.” 

“Thank you, Dr. Deaton.” Aurora said, passing Rylen back over to Derek who gladly took her. 

“Any time. I’ll be more than happy to help you with anything you need.” Alan said as they made their way from the exam room. 

“Bye.” Rylen waved over Derek’s shoulder as they left the Animal Clinic. 

Derek strapped Rylen in the back before climbing in the driver's seat. Aurora had her head in her hand, leaning against the door. 

“You okay?” 

“Hmm?” She straightened up, turning to Derek. “Yeah. I’m fine.” 

“How did you get here?” Derek asked, starting the Toyota’s engine before pulling away from the Animal Clinic

“Car. Or at least until the hunters found us. They shot the back tires so we had to pull over and leave it.” 

“It was scary. We had to leave the car and mommy ran really fast.” Rylen said from the front seat. 

“I bet.” Derek said. “Where is it?” 

“Right outside the town line.” 

“Then let’s go get it.” He made a U-turn in the middle of the street, earning several annoyed honks in response. 

“Jesus, Derek.” Aurora breathed, clutching on to the door. “You do remember your daughter doesn’t have a car seat, don’t you?”

“I’m very aware of that fact. That’s why we’re going to get it now. What are we going to do about the car?” 

Aurora shrugged. “It’s only a rental.” 

“You rented a car? You could have flown.”

“But we’d still have to drive here. And we’d still have no car seat because I wasn’t about to pack it on a plane. Plus you took our only manner of transportation when you left. I tell you, human’s complain about subways, I tell you, you should try going on one as a werewolf. Talk about sensory overhaul.” 

“Why are you being so persnickety all of a sudden.” 

“I haven’t seen you in two years. You’re throwing my clock off.” 

“What clock is that, mommy?” Rylen asked. 

“A clock you won’t have to worry about for a long time.” Derek said, looking at her in the rearview mirror.

Derek let go of the wheel with one hand, moving over to take Aurora’s hand which was resting in her lap. Her fingers curled around his, her grip tight as he felt the bond between them strengthening again. It had been getting so weak after being apart for so long. He felt the protective instinct growing inside him, directed towards his two girls. He could also smell the change in Aurora that being around him after a long time brought on. She was right. He was throwing her off. If she had been regular like she was supposed to be, then it shouldn’t be for another few weeks. That would certainly make things interesting. 


	4. The Pack

After grabbing Aurora and Rylen’s stuff from the rental car, they drove back into town, heading towards the loft. Derek had called the pack, wanting to get the introductions over with as soon as possible. He wasn’t going to give them all the details yet, but just enough so they could learn to trust Aurora before he told them the big secret.

He helped Rylen from her carseat, setting her down in the garage of the loft. She wrapped her arms around his leg, holding on tight when he tried to move.

“You gotta let go of me so I can walk, pup.” He said, running a hand through her messy hair.

“But I don’t wanna.” She said, holding him tighter.

“Come on, monkey.” Aurora said, pulling her from Derek’s leg. “Let’s get upstairs before you catch a cold.” It was a fib, werewolf children didn’t get sick, but she didn’t know that.

“Okay.” She said, raising her arms to Aurora.

Aurora picked her up, packing her up the stairs to Derek’s loft.

“Derek, are there people in your loft?” Aurora whispered a floor away from the top.

“The local pack. I help them out on occasion. I thought they should meet you so they won’t think you’re a threat.”

“That’s sweet of you.” Aurora said, passing him to climb the last flight of steps.

Derek opened the door to his loft, the rest of the pack already there. They watched as a dark haired woman they’d never seen before walked in, carrying a little girl on her hip.

“There’s a face I thought I’d never see again.” Peter said, moving from his place by the stairs to approach the woman.

The whole room tensed as she set the girl down, wrapping her arms around Peter’s neck.

“What happened to you? The last time I saw you, you were catatonic.”

“It’s a long story.” He knelt down, looking at the little girl who was hiding behind her mother’s leg. “Who’s this?”

“Rylen. Your great niece.”

“Hi, Rylen. You can call me Uncle Peter.”

Rylen slowly came out from behind her mother’s leg, walking towards Peter. She put her small hands on his face, staring up at him.

“You have pretty eyes.” She said after a moment.

Derek wrapped an arm around his wife’s waist, pulling her close to him as Peter lifted Rylen into his arms, all three wearing smiles on their faces.

The pack watched the exchange silently before Rylen turned to them, wiggling out of her mother’s arms.

Rylen strutted up to the teens seated in Derek’s loft with her head held high. She walked right into the middle of the group, turning in a circle, inspecting each person. She walked up to the redhead sitting in a metal chair.

“You look like Ariel. Ariel’s my favorite princess.”

She turned to the four people on the couch, squeezing herself in between the two boys seated there.

“Hi Stiles.” She said, looking up to the skinny, twitchy teen. She turned to the other boy, the youngest of the group. She stared up at him with hard eyes, much like her father’s as he stared down at her, looking almost afraid. “You’re cute. I like you.” She said before relaxing into his side. He tensed for a moment, but then relaxed.

“Rylen, you piece of work.” Aurora said, facing the group with Derek at her side.

“Aurora this is Scott,” He pointed to the boy who was standing by the couch with his arms crossed. “The alpha. His girlfriend, Kira,” He pointed to the Japanese girl sitting on the far left side of the couch. “the Kitsune. Malia, Peter’s daughter,” He pointed to the brown haired girl next to Kira. “And a werecoyote. Liam, Scott’s beta.” He pointed to the young boy Rylen was cuddled up to. “Stiles, Scott’s best friend, Malia’s boyfriend and a human,” The twitchy teen. “And Lydia, the banshee.” The redhead waved. “Everyone this is Aurora, my wife.”

“Wife?” All of them said at once.

“You never told them about me?”

“I was trying to keep you out of danger. You’re supposed to be in New York anyways.”

“Yeah, and you’re supposed to answer your phone, not leave me hanging for almost four months.”

“I had something I had to take care of and I didn’t want you getting involved.” He turned back to the pack. “And that’s Rylen. Our daughter.” He pointed to the little girl who was almost asleep on Liam.

“Who would have thought. Sourwolf has a family.” Stiles said.

“Sourwolf?” Aurora asked, looking sideways at Derek. “It does fit you.” She put her thumbs on the corners of his mouth, lifting them up in an attempt to make him smile. “He sure doesn’t smile like he used to.”

Derek turned when he felt something tugging on his pant leg, looking down to see Rylen making grabby hands at him. He bent down, picking her up and holding her tightly. It had been way too long since he’d held her, these past couple years being rough ones for him. The pack dismissed themselves, sensing the family would want their privacy, even Peter leaving after kissing Aurora’s cheek and ruffing Rylen’s hair.

Aurora and Derek moved to the now vacant couch, Derek feeling better than he had in a long time. His mate was curled against his side, his pup snuggled into his shoulder.

“I still can’t believe you never told them.” His mate murmured, her voice slightly muffled by his shirt.

“I want them to get to know you before you tell them.”

“Why? You think they’ll judge me based solely on my parentage?”

“With the experience they’ve had, yes. But if they see you’re trustworthy, there’s a better chance.”

“I’m not my father.” She whispered before cuddling farther into him, her hand gripping his shirt.

“Daddy?” A small voice whispered. Without his enhanced hearing, he probably would have missed it.

“Yeah, baby girl?”

“You’re not leaving again, are you?” His breath hitched, listening to that small voice murmur in his ear.

“No, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”  

They sat that way for a while, Derek taking comfort in having his family so close to him again. Both of his girls were asleep, while he watched over them protectively. And in that moment, he felt like something was finally going right.  
  



	5. Changes

Derek eventually moved them, wrapping a blanket around Rylen and leaving her on the couch, before moving Aurora to the bed. He changed her out of her clothes, opting for his shirt instead, his wolf content with having his scent all over her again. He made sure the door was locked, and Rylen was comfortable before stripping out of his clothes, pulling on a pair of sweatpants. He slid in bed behind Aurora, pulling her tight against his chest, placing a soft kiss on her temple before slowly drifting off to sleep listening to the sound of his girls’ heartbeats. 

They had maybe been asleep for a couple of hours when they heard it. Aurora was up first, her movements stirring Derek as she jumped from the bed, running over to the couch. Derek was up in a flash, eyes glowing, checking for any sign of an intrusion. 

He found none, only Aurora kneeling by the couch, trying to wake their screaming daughter. He was by her side in a flash, watching as his daughter fought off something in her sleep, thrashing around on the couch. The terror was coming off her in waves, even when she woke, throwing her arms around Aurora. Her body was shaking as she cried into Aurora’s shoulder. 

“Shh. It was just a dream. Mommy’s here. Daddy’s here. We won’t let anything happen to you.” Aurora said quietly, stroking Rylen’s hair. 

“D-Daddy.” Rylen choked out between sobs. 

“Yeah, I’m here pup.” Derek said, putting a hand on her back. 

Aurora moved, turning so she could lean back against the couch, still holding Rylen. Derek turned as well, wrapping his arms around Aurora, pulling her into his chest. 

They sat in silence until Rylen’s sobs were reduced to sniffles and she finally fell back asleep. Aurora stayed where she was, still holding Rylen close, rubbing her back. 

“How long has that been going on?” Derek asked quietly after he was sure Rylen was asleep. 

“Almost a year. It just came out of the blue one night. I thought someone had broken in with the way she was screaming, but it was a nightmare. And it comes and goes too. She can go nights without having it, then it will come back for two nights, then she won’t have it.” 

“You’re sure it’s the same dream?” Derek asked, shifting slightly so he could look down at Aurora. 

“Yeah. The same terrified screaming, thrashing around in bed like she’s trying to fight something. I don’t know if she remembers it in the morning because she won’t talk about it. But, then again, with the way it looks, I wouldn’t want her to relive it if she did remember.” 

******

I woke up warm. Unusually warm. Derek and I had moved back to the bed, bringing Rylen with us in case she had another nightmare. She was curled against my chest, still gripping my shirt. Derek’s chest was pressed against my back, arm wrapped around Rylen and I. Rylen frowned in her sleep, finally letting go of my shirt before shuffling around until she was on her back, her head turned away towards the wall. Derek shifted behind me, his nose nuzzling against my shoulder before it was replaced by his lips. 

“What are you doing?” I whispered, turning slightly as his lips trailed higher. 

His lips trailed up my neck to my ear, his nose finding the scent pocket behind my ear. 

“I missed this.” He whispered, nibbling on my earlobe. 

“I know. I did too.” I whispered back, rolling over on my back so I could kiss him. 

It was the first time we’d kissed in almost two years, and it was well worth the wait. It was like the first kiss we ever shared. Full of love, passion, need. Derek’s hand cupped the side of my face, his thumb rubbing my jaw. 

“Ewww.” A little voice said from behind me. 

Both Derek and I turned to Rylen who was sitting up next to us in bed, her hair three sheets to the wind. 

“What? You don’t like daddy kissing mommy?” I asked. 

“Not when I can see.” She said, sliding off the bed. “I have to go potty.” 

I laughed, kissing Derek one more time before climbing off the bed and taking Rylen to the bathroom. 

*********

Derek watched his wife and daughter disappear into the bathroom. He didn’t know how he’d gone two years without seeing them. Even four months without contacting them. But then again, he was kind of in a predicament and he didn’t want them showing up in the middle of it. 

He heard Rylen’s bare feet slapping against the concrete as she ran back over to the bed, climbing on before throwing herself at Derek. He caught her, careful not to fall off the side of the bed. 

“I missed you daddy.” She said, her voice muffled against his chest. 

“I missed you too, baby. I missed you a lot.” 

Aurora came out of the bathroom, walking back over to the bed. 

“Do you have food?” She asked, standing down by Derek’s feet. 

“Well...” 

Aurora crossed her arms, putting her weight on one leg as she stared down at him. “Derek Stanton Hale, if you have not been eating, I will beat you over the head with a rolled up newspaper.” 

Rylen giggled, moving so she was sitting next to Derek’s head. 

Derek rolled his eyes. “I’ve eaten....intermittently.” 

Aurora gave him a look and he shrunk back a little. 

“Uh oh. Daddy’s in trouble.” Rylen said. 

“Daddy’s in big trouble.” Aurora said. “Which is why he gets to go to the store to pick up some food.” She said, tossing him his keys. 

“Can we go?” Rylen asked, moving so she was standing at the foot of the bed.

“You and I need to take a bath.” Aurora said picking Rylen up. “We are stinky.” Aurora put Rylen down on the floor. “Now pick out some clothes.”

Derek rolled out of bed, groaning a little as he stretched before moving towards the small closet that held his clothes. He smacked Aurora’s butt as he passed, getting a slap on the arm in return. 

“I’ll be back.” He said, pulling on his shoes. 

“Okay. We’ll be here. Maybe still in the bath.” 

Derek kissed Aurora quickly before leaving the loft, locking the door behind him. 

He hated going to the store, so that’s why he usually didn’t. He didn’t need food, and he knew Aurora really didn’t either. But they had a pup to feed, so he swallowed his distaste and went in. He didn’t have a clue where to start, as he hadn’t gone grocery shopping in months, so he just followed the flow. Thankfully it was still early and there weren’t very many people at the store yet. He picked out some fruit, knowing Aurora wanted Rylen to eat as healthy as possible. He grabbed some essentials: milk, bread, eggs, cheese. He picked up a box of cheerios as well as some other snack foods he knew Rylen liked. He also picked up some shampoo and bubble bath, knowing Aurora wouldn’t want to use only his stuff. He didn’t mind if she went around smelling like him, but he knew she would.

He got back to the loft in record time, packing all the groceries up in one trip. Werewolf strength. It’s a blessing. Rylen was sitting on the couch, flipping through a book when he opened the door, the sound of a hairdryer coming from the bathroom. 

He went into the kitchen, putting all the groceries away before settling himself down on the couch. 

“Whatcha reading?” He asked, looking down at Rylen. 

“Rainbow Fish. But I just like looking at the pictures. I can’t read yet.”

“Well here.” Derek said, taking the book from her. “Daddy will read it.” 

Aurora left the bathroom, smiling at the sight of Derek reading to Rylen. She walked behind them, heading for the kitchen to get started on breakfast. She smiled when she saw what Derek had bought, knowing Rylen would be very excited. 

“What’s for breakfast, momma?” Derek asked, carrying Rylen into the kitchen. 

“Scrambled eggs.” She reached into the cupboard beside her. “Hey Ry, look what daddy bought.” She held up the box of Cheerios.” 

“O’s!” Rylen yelled, making Derek wince slightly as he sat down at the counter behind Aurora. “Can I have some mommy?” 

“You can have a little with your eggs.” 

Aurora dished up the eggs, and a small bowl of Cheerios for Rylen. Aurora carried them out to the living room, setting the dishes down on the table in front of the couch. Derek and Aurora sat on the couch while Rylen stood across from them. 

“We have a lot of shopping we’ll need to do.” Aurora said, looking around the bare loft. 

“You may be able to live with the bare minimum, but you’ve got us now. We’re a little more high maintenance.” Derek smiled a little. “We’ll probably have to find somewhere else to live too. Or renovate. Well, finish renovating.” She said, eyeing the hole in the wall. 

“I know. I was thinking about that.” Derek put his empty plate on the table in front of him. “I, uh, I wasn’t going to tell you this yet. It was actually supposed to be a surprise, but, I bought the old house back from the county.” 

“You did what?” 

“I bought the house from the county. I was going to renovate it, but I got kind of sidetracked with helping the pack, but now that everything’s calmed down...”

“That’s going to be a big project.” 

“I was thinking, we could fix this building up, then start renting it out. Put it to good use. Fix up the old house, then move out there again.” 

“Sounds like a lot of work.” Aurora said, putting her plate on the table before leaning in to Derek’s side. “But it just might be worth it.” She said, looking down at Rylen. 

“That’s also something we should work on.” He said, looking down at Rylen as well. 

Aurora turned, looking at Derek’s face. To an observer, it looked like they were having a silent conversation, which they were. It was something they had mastered after Rylen was born. Living in a small apartment with a baby...silence was key. 

“Rylen, baby, come here for a second.” Aurora said, turning towards her daughter who was digging through her bag. 

Rylen padded over to her mother, climbing on to her lap. 

“Do you remember what happened last night?” 

“I had a nightmare.” She said after a moment.

“Do you remember the nightmare?” 

She was silent for a while. The look on her face was one of confliction. Derek and Aurora hated seeing it, but if the could figure out why she was having nightmares, then they could help her. 

“You and daddy were fighting.” She finally said, looking off into the distance. “Daddy had red eyes.” Aurora and Derek looked at each other. “Mommy slashed at daddy with her claws and daddy fell down. Daddy didn’t want to fight mommy and kept trying to talk to her, but she wouldn’t listen. There was another man holding me, making me watch. I don’t know him, but he knew mommy. He said ‘kill him.’ And mommy...” She choked back a sob. “I try to stop her, but she rips daddy’s throat out. And then she turns to me. Mommy’s eyes are red now. Then she jumps at me, but I wake up then.” 

Aurora held Rylen close as she cried, her stomach tied in knots, feeling suddenly very cold. 

“You know mommy wouldn’t ever hurt you or daddy, right?” She asked, pulling Rylen away from her shoulder. “And mommy and daddy wouldn’t ever fight. We might argue sometimes, but that won’t ever happen. And you know mommy and daddy’s eyes are blue. Not red.” 

Rylen nodded, seeming to relax a little. But Aurora and Derek shared a knowing, worried look between them. They knew what it meant.


	6. Clocks

I paced back and forth on the balcony of the loft. Derek was leaning against the wall, looking out over the city. He had called Peter, asking if he could watch Rylen while we talked about what our daughter had told us. 

“It just freaks me out that our daughter is having dreams about her grandfather, whom she has never met, mind you. And even worse she has to watch me kill you and then try to kill her. It’s like she’s living my worst nightmare in her sleep.” 

Derek grabbed Aurora’s arm, pulling her into his chest. He held on to her, nuzzling her head, trying to sooth her nerves. 

“Neither one of us are Alphas anyways.” He said, pulling away slightly. “You didn’t give her details when I called you, did you?” 

“No. I kept to the basics. I’m starting to get the idea that you didn’t give me all the details.” 

“I will eventually. You’ve only been here a day. We haven’t seen each other in two years. Our daughter hasn’t had both her parents since she was two. I’m surprised she even remembered me.” 

“Of course she remembers you. You’re her daddy. I showed her the pictures you sent.” 

“Not all of them, I hope.” 

I laughed, wrapping my arms around his waist. “No, those I kept for myself.” 

He hummed, looking over my head. I could sense the change in him, and feel it as well. 

“Do we need to hire Peter on as a babysitter for a while?” 

“I don’t know how much I like the idea of leaving my daughter with Peter.” 

“We’ll need to find someone soon. We’re throwing each other off. I can smell the hormonal changes already.”

“I know. I can too.”

“I can also smell something else.” I said, pulling away from him. There’s something else about you. Something different.”

“Something did change. I’ll explain it later. I’ll explain everything.”

Derek wasn’t lying when he said he’d explain everything later. Rylen was on the couch, coloring and Derek had gone into the bathroom, and told me to wait by the bed. I waited patiently, standing up when the door opened, expecting to see Derek coming out, but instead it was a large black wolf. 

I stood there in shock as it walked cautiously towards me. It lowered its head a little, staring up at me before its eyes glowed blue. 

“Derek?” I asked, getting a growl in response. I knelt down, Derek moving closer to me. “So this is what’s different about you.” I said, running my fingers through his fur. “You can shift into a full wolf like your mom did. When did that happen?”

“Daddy?” I heard Rylen ask. She had gotten off the couch and moved over towards us. 

Derek turned around, lowering himself down so he was laying on the floor, keeping a careful eye on Rylen as she approached him. Rylen tentatively held her hand out, Derek lowering his head down slightly. Rylen touched the top of his head, running her fingers through his fur. She squealed, then erupted in giggles when he licked her cheek. 

“Daddy’s a wolf.” She laughed out, wrapping her arms around Derek’s neck. 

“Yeah.” I ran my fingers through the fur on his back. “Daddy’s a wolf.” 

Rylen fell asleep not long after, partway through coloring a picture of a horse. Derek, shifted back into a human, made sure she was tucked in before we went to bed. Derek and I lay awake for a while, listening to the light rain outside. I turned so I was on my back, keeping Derek’s arms wrapped around me. 

“What’s on your mind?” He asked quietly. 

“A lot of things.” I said, taking his hand in mine, lacing our fingers together. “My heats coming soon. Within the next week. It’s early by a few weeks. And it’s been almost two years, Derek. It’s a miracle it hasn’t happened yet.” 

“I know. My rut’s coming too.”

“You’ll rut when I go into heat. We’ll have to find some place for Rylen to go while it happens. Peter-”

“No.” Derek interrupted me. “We’re not leaving her with Peter.” 

“Why are you so against letting Peter babysit?” 

“He’s not the same person you knew before, Aurora. He’s changed. He only does things if they have some benefit for him.” 

“He seemed pretty normal today.” 

“He’s killed people, Aurora.” 

“So have I.” I said, sitting up. “And so have you. How does that make us any different from him.” 

“Because we didn’t have any choice.” 

“You think he did? Derek, he went six years without shifting. Think about that. He wouldn’t have any control. Do you think he’d really, consciously kill Laura?” Derek was silent for a while. “Unless you can think of someone better, Peter’s our only option. We can at least try. If something doesn’t work, then we’ll figure something else out. I went through four heat cycles with her, but both of us together...” 

Derek sat up, wrapping his arms around me. “You know it’ll probably happen this time. Both of us, and after so long...” 

“She’s four now. My wolf’s been ready for three years. Those two years were rough, not being able to at least try. You had to go and leave us. It’s all your fault our clocks are screwed up.” I said jokingly. 

“You think so?” He pulled me down so I was laying under him. 

He stared down at me tenderly, his thumb brushing against my cheek. He smiled before leaning down, pressing his lips against mine. 

“I love you, you know that right?” He said, pulling away, resting his forehead against mine. 

“I know. I love you too.” 

I tangled my hand in his hair, pulling him back down to my lips, his weight settling over me. It had been far too long.


	7. Closer and Closer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one gets a little down and dirty. And so will the next couple.

Derek parked the Toyota in the parking lot of Peter’s apartment building. He climbed out, grabbing Rylen’s bag from the back, before helping her out of her car seat. He was still a little wary about leaving Rylen with Peter, but Aurora was right. They didn’t have any other choice. 

“Mommy and daddy have to take care of some things for a few days, so you’re going to stay with Peter.” Derek said as he climbed the stairs up to Peter’s apartment. 

Peter had the door open before Derek could even knock, Rylen reaching out for her great uncle. Derek handed her over to Peter rather reluctantly. 

“Here’s her bag. Aurora stuck a list of things you should know in the front pocket. If anything happens, call us.” 

“Don’t worry. She’s in good hands.” 

“Yeah, daddy. Don’t worry.” Rylen said. 

“Have fun, okay?” Derek said, kissing Rylen’s cheek. 

“Okay.” 

“I’ll see you in a few days.” 

It was hard for Derek to leave Rylen. He’d only just gotten her back, but he knew she couldn’t stay with them while they worked out their issues. He had come close to rutting last night, being so close to Aurora. She was already slipping into heat, so it was only a matter of time. But his paternal instincts were still weary. 

Aurora had already started her heat, their closeness last night triggering it. He had left her sitting in a cold bath, and that was probably where he’d find her. He stopped by the store, picking up some steaks before heading back to the loft. 

Aurora was spread out on the bed when he got back. She was on top of the sheets, naked as the day she was born. Derek put the steaks in the fridge before making his way to the bed. 

“How are you doing?” He asked, running his fingers over her leg. 

“Hot.” 

“You feel warm.” Derek said, sitting on the edge of the bed. 

“How was she? When you left?” 

“She seemed okay.” Derek said, trailing his fingers up Aurora’s leg. “She told me not to worry.” 

“She told you not to worry?” Aurora laughed. 

Her laugh turned into a gasp as Derek placed a kiss on the inside of her thigh, above her knee. He’d missed feeling her soft skin under his hands, the way she looked at him when he touched her. 

“Are you ready for the next few days?” He asked, slipping his body between her legs. “It’s gonna be sweaty, hot, dirty. We’re gonna be out of our minds with need.” 

Her hips lifted off the bed to meet his, a groan leaving her lips as her bare skin rubbed against his jeans. 

“I need you, Derek.” She whined. 

“I know. That’s why I’m here.” 

Derek leaned down, pressing his lips against Aurora’s. She ran her fingers up his shoulders to the back of his head, lacing her fingers in his hair. She tugged hard, earning a growl from Derek. He pulled away from her, his eyes glowing blue. Her eyes changed as well, and they could feel it start then. It was happening. 

*******

My body was on fire, the heat taking over as I felt the desire start to pool between my legs. It was happening to Derek to, his heart rate jumping, breath picking up as a growl rumbled through his chest. He was almost shaking, his very prominent bulge pressing against my hip. 

“Der.” I breathed, running my hands under his shirt. “We gotta do this now. We gotta...” 

I trailed off as his lips attacked my neck, canines scraping against my skin as he left a trail of marks that disappeared moments later. He broke away long enough for me to pull his shirt over his head before he attached himself again, moving down my chest. My back arched as his hands cupped my breasts, thumbs brushing over my nipples. Every nerve ending in my body was on fire as he touched me. I gasped as he took one nipple in his mouth, swirling his tongue around the bud before taking it between his teeth. Goosebumps rose on my skin despite the intense heat that burned in my veins. 

Derek’s mouth left my breasts, moving down to my stomach. His tongue dipped in my belly button before moving lower. I tangled my hand in his hair as he licked a stripe up my slit before wrapping his lips around my already swollen clit. His tongue teased the sensitive bud, two of his fingers slipping into my hole easily.   
He worked me with his tongue and his fingers, my body writhing on the bed as he pushed me closer and closer to the edge. I felt my claws elongate, tearing into the pillow I was gripping on to for dear life. 

“Fuck, Der. I’m close.” 

His free hand held my hips down on the bed as I came, his fingers working me through my first orgasm of the day. 

“Oh fuck, I missed you.” I breathed as I heard his pants hit the floor. 

He didn’t even need to work me back up again, my heat was doing that for me, the aftershocks from my first orgasm already wearing off as need for him took over. His hands grabbed my hips, turning me over so I was on all fours. I looked at him over my shoulder, my blue eyes meeting his as he thrust into me, burying himself to the hilt. 

I moaned at the feeling, my claws digging into the bed sheets as he moved, giving me no time to adjust as he started thrusting roughly in and out of me. Not that I needed the time to adjust. His body folded over mine, hand sliding up my stomach to my neck. His claws dug into the delicate skin, small rivulets of blood dripping down my chest. Normally I would have beat him sideways, but I was too far gone to care. 

He growled loudly, giving a particularly hard thrust. My knees buckled, my arms shaking, the only reason I was still upright was because he was holding me. I was already sensitive from my first orgasm, and the heat was pushing me closer and closer to the edge. 

“Der...Derek, I’m gonna...” 

“Shh.” He breathed against my ear, his thrusts picking up speed. 

His growls echoed in my ear as I neared the edge of sweet release. He shifted his hips, giving a hard thrust and I was done. I was thrown over the edge, my body shaking as a howl ripped from my lips. Derek continued moving, claws tearing into the sheets by my hands as his growls became deeper, vibrating through my back. He released my upper body, letting it fall to the bed as he straightened up, gripping my hips in his hands. 

Derek’s thrusts lost their rhythm, his hips stuttering, his length growing inside me. His claws dug into the skin of my hips as he gave one last hard thrust before he was locked inside me, his length twitching as he came. He fell forward, releasing my hips as his hands came to rest beside my head. 

My body shook as I laid there, deliciously stretched by Derek’s knot. The burning need had subsided for a while, though my body was still warm, especially after what had just happened. 

“You okay?” Derek breathed, wrapping an arm around me so he could roll us over, careful not to pull on the knot. 

“Yeah. Better than ever.” I said, lacing our fingers together. 

“How long do you think we’ll get a break for?” 

“I give it an hour. That’s 30 minutes for your knot to wear off, then another 30 for my heat to kick back in and we lose our humanity again.” His free hand traced over my hips where his claws had dug into my skin. “It’s okay.” I said, looking at him over my shoulder. “You know you can’t hurt me.” 

He kissed my shoulder before relaxing behind me, both of us waiting for the post coital bliss to wear off. Then we’d be back at it again.


	8. Consequences

Derek and Aurora spent the whole week in bed, not hardly moving. They’d have to get new sheets, as they were torn up, bloodied, covered in sweat, semen. But they didn’t care. Their humanity was buried deep beneath their wolves’ desire to mate. Derek’s wolf wanted Aurora pregnant, and Arora’s wolf wanted to be pregnant. 

They were both currently asleep, limbs tangled, breathing almost synchronized, as were their heartbeats. Aurora shifted slightly, her brow furrowing slightly. Her eyes fluttered open, taking a moment to focus on the ceiling of the loft. She turned on her side, staring at her mate beside her. It was true that he wasn’t like he used to be. After Laura’s death, then everything that happened from then until now, it had changed him. But now, as he slept, he seemed younger. Like he used to be. 

Derek twitched slightly as he slept, his head turning to the side towards Aurora. She ran her fingers down his cheek, feeling the stubble tickle her skin. She liked him with a beard. His eyes fluttered open, taking a moment before they focused on her. 

“Hey.” He breathed, feeling calmer than he had in a week. 

The frenzy he and Aurora had sent themselves into was wearing off, the humanity returning to the two werewolves. Aurora’s heat was almost gone, the need having been met, just a small fever the only sign anything had changed in the last week. Derek’s wolf had calmed, sensing that his mate’s needs were taken care of. 

“How do you feel?” He asked, wrapping his arms around her. 

He pulled her on to his chest, pushing her tangled hair over one shoulder before threading his fingers in the soft strands gently. 

“Like I haven’t showered in a week.” She said, feeling the dried fluids on the inside of her thighs. 

The smells around them were starting to become more potent as their senses returned to them. The loft stunk of sweat and sex, with the small undertone of blood.

“We showered.” Derek said, his fingers running up and down her spine. 

“We had sex in the shower twice. How much cleaning we actually did is debatable. The details are all kid of blurry right now.” 

She slid off him, stretching slightly before going to the bathroom. He watched her for a moment before sliding from the bed, following her. She was standing in front of the mirror, assessing the damage when he got in the bathroom. He turned on the shower before moving to stand behind her. She moved her hair to the side, revealing her left shoulder. 

“I think you bit me.” She said, running her fingers over where there should have been holes from his teeth, but there were only small rivulets of blood trailing down her chest. 

“I think I bit you lots of times.” Derek said, pushing her towards the shower. 

“Yay for werewolf healing. I don’t think I could even move if I didn’t have that.” 

“I don’t think you’d be conscious right now.” He said, running soap over her skin, washing away all traces of what they’d done for the past week. 

“How do you think Rylen’s doing?” She asked, Derek’s head falling forward as she rubbed his shoulders. 

“Well, we haven’t gotten any calls, so I assume everything’s going alright.” 

Derek and Aurora finished their shower before getting dressed, Aurora in one of Derek’s shirts, and Derek in a pair of sweatpants. Aurora sat on the bed, after she changed the sheets, throwing the others away. 

“We’ll probably have to bleach the walls and the floor. Just to get the smell out.” She said as Derek opened up every door and window he could, letting in the warm summer air. 

Derek sat down in front of her, Aurora tossing her legs over his lap as they faced each other. They were silent for a while, neither one of them looking at the other. Neither of them could. They had just spent the past week having nonstop sex. This was the first time they’d actually been able to have a decent conversation. 

“Well, that was one way to say hello after two years.” Aurora finally said. “It was hard, without you. But granted that was the worst heat I’d had since after I joined your pack. After I met you. When your mom had to take me out deep into the woods for a week.” 

“I remember that. She was worried you’d trigger my rut and we’d be mating like rabbits. She didn’t want to risk anything.” 

“We avoided each other until we were married. Then we just kinda went crazy. It’s a miracle Rylen wasn’t born sooner.” 

“I know. We were insatiable. I don’t know how Laura put up with us.” 

“Well, she wasn’t exactly shy about anything.” 

They were silent for a few moments. 

“Are you going to tell me everything that happened? All the little details you forgot to mention when you called me every once in awhile to reassure me you were still alive?” 

He was silent for a while, but then he started. He told her everything, about finding half of Laura’s body, burying it on the property, Scott, getting arrested, the alpha, becoming the most wanted person in Beacon County, the Argents, finding out Peter was the alpha, Kate, getting tortured, Peter killing Kate, how he killed Peter, biting Jackson, Isaac, Erica and Boyd, the Kanima, Gerard, Peter coming back to life, Jackson dying and coming back as a werewolf, his pack disappearing over the summer, the Alpha Pack, finding out Cora was alive and Erica was dead, getting attacked by the Alpha Pack, killing Boyd, Jennifer, to which he responded to her look by explaining how after her flirting once, he went back to wearing his wedding ring, though none of the others seemed to notice. He went on about how she actually was a Darach making human sacrifices, how she’d tricked him into protecting her, what happened with Scott and Deucalion, taking Cora back to South America, getting caught by the Calaveras, Kira, Malia, how Malia is Peter’s daughter, Stiles getting possessed by an evil fox spirit, how he was possessed and tried to kill Chris Argent, Allison and Aiden dying, getting kidnapped and dying briefly in Mexico, coming back and losing his powers briefly, the deadpool, Braeden, which he again had to reassure her that nothing happened, and it was strictly her trying to teach him to be human. Then about dying in Mexico and coming back as a wolf, Chris Argent leaving to track down Kate and then he said the rest was history. He’d heard her howl just a couple weeks after the pack returned to Beacon Hills. 

Aurora sat in silence for quite a while, taking in everything he’d told her. It was almost nightfall now, the air turning slightly cooler as it came in through the open doors and windows. As she sat in silence, she felt something stir inside her. Some maternal instinct rising to the surface after being shoved down when her heat had started. 

“Something’s not right.” She said, standing from the bed, pulling Dere’s shirt off. 

“What?” Derek asked, watching as she changed into jeans and a long sleeved shirt. 

“Something’s....something’s wrong. We need to get to Peter’s. I’ll go start the car.” She barely had her shoes on before she disappeared out the door. 

Derek pulled his clothes on quickly, sprinting down the stairs and out to the garage. He climbed in the driver’s seat, not even bothering with a seat belt as he tore away from the loft, speeding downtown to Peter’s apartment building. 

“You’re sure something’s wrong?” 

“Yes. It just feels...off.” 

Derek barely had the Toyota stopped before she was jumping out, running towards the front door. He could feel it as he ran after her. Something was off. He caught up to her easily, as she had stopped dead in her tracks in front of Peter’s door. It was wide open, no lights on, but he could hear one heartbeat inside. 

Derek entered first, calling out for his uncle. The apartment was trashed, furniture flipped over, broken glass everywhere, the dining table broken, and in the middle was Peter. 

“He was here.” Peter groaned out as Derek moved the debris off him. 

“Who? Who was here?” Derek asked. 

Aurora stood in the middle of the apartment, not sensing her daughter there at all. She sniffed the air, catching a third scent in the air. It had been over ten years since she’d smelled it, but she still recognized it from all those years ago. She inhaled shakily, fear creeping into her stomach. 

“Oh god.” She whispered, facing the open door. 

“He took her.” Peter said, struggling to get to his feet with the help of Derek. “I tried to stop him.” 

Derek listened to Aurora’s heartbeat pounding in her chest, the fear and panic coming off her in waves. All three werewolves heard the sound, the small, high pitched howl that sounded in the air. A sound only they could hear. A howl that was cut off far too quickly for their liking.


	9. Surprise

“How did he even find us? I covered my tracks on my way here. I knew he wasn’t following us. I haven’t seen him in ten years, Derek? How could he possibly know about her? You didn’t tell him, did you?” I was panicking in the front seat of the Toyota.

“No. I never said anything about you or Rylen.” I suck back into the passenger seat, gripping the sides so hard I was surprised it wasn’t broken yet. 

“So what are we going to do? Just confront him about all this? Fight him? He’s still an alpha, you know.” Peter said from the backseat. 

“I...” I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was running off sheer maternal instincts and every fiber of my being was telling me to kill him for threatening my pack. But I knew I didn’t stand a chance against him. Even three of us against him didn’t have all that good of an outlook. “I’m gonna talk to him.” 

“Talk to him?” Peter asked, leaning forward in between the seats. 

“Yeah. See what he wants, get something out of him. I at least need to know that she’s alright.” 

The three of us climbed out of the Toyota, slowly making our way towards the door. 

“Just...let me talk to him. You two stay back. Don’t do anything unless he attacks. And don’t provoke him.” I said, turning towards Peter for that last bit. 

We slowly climbed the steps to the loft, my hands shaking as I gripped the railing. I didn’t know what we were walking in to. I just hoped my baby was alright. She was probably terrified. I was spurred onward by that thought, the maternal instinct driving me forward and straight into the loft. 

He was there, the man I hadn’t seen in ten years, standing just a few feet from me. I swallowed my nerves, walking down the steps so I was within arms distance from him. 

“It’s been a long time, Rori.” 

“Where is she?” 

“Right straight to the point. So much like your mother.” 

“Cut the crap. Tell me where my daughter is.” 

“Is that any way to speak to your father?” 

“You’re not my father. My father died ten years ago, after a demon possessed him. Made him kill his own pack out of spite and anger.” 

“Hmm.” He chuckled. “Your mother never told you the whole story, did she? You see, they were going to kill me. They thought, just because I was blind, I wouldn’t suffice as an alpha anymore. Well, they were wrong. Very wrong.” 

“So you killed every last one of them. You would have killed my mother and me if we had stayed.” 

“Don’t be so sure. Your mother ran because she was afraid. She took you away, the only person who could have succeeded me as an alpha. I could have taught you so much, Rori.” 

“Don’t call me that.” I glared at him angrily. “Just tell me where my daughter is.” 

“Oh she’s quite safe. Being well taken care of. Getting to know the grandfather she never knew existed, while I eliminate a few threats.” Before I could even process what he meant, his hand was wrapped around my throat, claws digging into the skin. 

I heard Derek and Peter move behind me, but Deucalion stopped them with a single look. 

“I wouldn’t bother. I could snap her neck before you even got close enough to attack.” I gripped his wrist as his grip tightened on my neck, cutting off my air supply. 

“You’d kill your own family for power?” Derek said, taking a step forward. 

“I would if they get in my way, my dear son-in-law. You never told me you knew my daughter when we met for the first time, Derek.” 

“You never asked.” 

“I would advise you not to get in my way. Don’t worry about your little daughter. By the time I’m done with her, she won’t even remember who you are.” He growled in my face, and with a flash of lightning he was gone. 

I sat on the floor where I’d dropped when he released me, staring at the spot where he stood just seconds before. It all felt like a dream. It felt like I was living out some twisted nightmare and I would wake up at any second and everything would be fine. But his claws against my neck had been so real. Derek’s hands on my face were real. 

“Hey. Aurora, look at me. Don’t you do this.” I lifted my eyes to his, staring into the bright green depths. 

I wrapped my hand around the one that was holding my face. I felt the tears start to prick behind my eyes. The very thing I had tried to protect her from now had her and...I had failed. I felt the tears start slipping down my cheeks before leaning forward, burying my face in Derek’s shoulder. 

Derek slowly moved into a standing position, still holding me as I sobbed into his shoulder. I felt the anger boil up in me then, causing me to push away from him. 

“Why didn’t you kill him?” I yelled at Derek, tears still falling down my face. “Why did you keep him alive?” I shoved Derek back, feeling nothing but anger and grief. 

Peter came between us, placing a hand on my shoulder, and one on Derek’s chest. 

“That decision wasn’t up to me.” Derek said. 

I stared at him hard for second before shoving away from Peter, turning my back on them. 

“You should have killed him.” 

“I know. And I regret it.” 

I felt the anger boiling up in me again. He regrets it? I turned, shoving past Peter and tackling him to the ground, my claws digging into his shoulders as my eyes glowed dangerously. 

“You regret it?” I picked him up slightly, shoving him back down to the ground hard. “You regret it? Our daughter is gone and you regret it?” 

Peter’s arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me off of Derek, slamming my back against one of the support beams. He kept his hand on my chest as he turned back to look at Derek. 

“Everyone needs to calm down. Fighting each other won’t get us anywhere, okay? Take it from a former psychopath, he probably wants you to fight each other. I’d even go so far as to say he wants one of you to kill the other.” 

I stopped moving at those words. I looked back up at Derek, our eyes meeting. We knew what was going to happen. We understood what the dream meant now.


	10. The Truth

“Derek, we have to tell them.” 

“No. They won’t help us if they find out.” 

“Finding out now is a hell of a lot better than them finding out that we kept it from them later. If we don’t tell them, he will. We don’t have much of a choice. Do you want to find Rylen, or not?” 

I stood, facing the windows in Derek’s loft, looking over the city. It was a rainy day, small droplets of water sliding down the glass panes. The entire pack was there, sitting around while Derek explained the situation. 

“But why would Deucalion take your daughter?” I heard Scott ask. 

Derek was silent while I turned around, finally facing the group of teenagers. I started moving over to where Derek was standing. 

“Because Deucalion is my father.” 

The room was tense and silent as suddenly all eyes were on me. No one moved for a while, all of them staring at me. Derek protectively wrapped an arm around my waist, ready to protect me if someone happened to attack. I knew Derek cared about the pack, but both our instincts were in overdrive, ready to attack at the first sign of a threat. 

“Why didn’t you tell us right away?” Scott finally asked, breaking the tense silence. 

“I wanted to show you she was trustworthy before we told you, knowing how you tend to react to things.” 

“So your wife is the daughter of the self proclaimed ‘Demon Wolf?’” Stiles asked, squinting his eyes at me. He turned back to Scott. “I definitely see a problem with that.” 

“I’m not my father.” I said, taking a defensive stance. 

“Given the experiences we’ve had with your father, I don’t see reason to trust you.” Stiles said.

I stepped closer to them. “Talia Hale trusted me enough to make me part of her pack. I don’t know how much you know about Derek’s mother, but that’s pretty good cause to trust someone. I watched my father kill his entire pack, my mother and I barely escaped. We roamed the country, looking for a pack for almost two years before she was killed and I was on my own. Talia was the one who found me and took me in. She trusted me after witnessing what my father had done. I don’t see why you can’t.” 

It was silent for a moment as I looked at each member of the pack, none of them able to look me in the eye. 

“We’ll help you, but that doesn’t mean we trust you.” 

“Fair enough.” I nodded, turning back to Derek. “You said the Alpha Pack was hiding in a bank when they first came to Beacon Hills. We need somewhere to start.” 

Derek nodded. “Let’s go.” 

“Whoa, wait. We’re just gonna walk right in?” Scott asked, standing up. 

Derek and I looked at one another. “Yeah.” We said at the same time. 

“What...That’s...” Scott ran after Derek and I as we descended the stairs to the garage. 

Derek and I were tense as we drove to the bank. Both of us hoped this would be it and we would have our daughter back, safe with us again, but we also knew, if he really was at the bank, then it would be too easy. Something did seem off. 

We gathered in the parking lot a block away, trying to figure out what our plan would be. He wanted to hurt Derek and I, so we agreed that Derek and I would go in the front, while the others waiting in case something happened. They’d be the surprise attack. 

Derek easily broke the lock on the front door, letting me slide in first before he followed. I scanned the area, not seeing anything, but the scent smelled fresh. 

“He’s been here.” I said quietly, moving cautiously into the bank. “The scent’s still fresh.” 

Derek and I checked every nook and cranny, making sure there wasn’t anyone about to jump out at us. 

“Well, that didn’t take long.” Derek and I both spun around, facing the door. 

“Where is she?” Derek asked, staring hard at Deucalion. 

“Not here anymore. I’ve already moved her. Don’t worry, she’s being well cared for.” His eyes shifted behind us. “I see you brought reinforcements. Don’t worry, I’ve got my own with me.” 

Gunshots rang out somewhere deep inside the bank, followed by growls from Scott and Liam. 

“Hunters.” I said. Then it dawned on me. “You sent the hunters after me.” 

“No, dear. I sent the hunters after your mother. After she was dead, they refused to go after you. Not wanting to risk facing the legendary Hale Pack. So I waited for eight years. You should have stayed in New York. You might have actually lived a long life if you had.” 

Suddenly bullets were shooting past Derek and I. We both jumped out of the way, hiding behind pillars as bullets flew past us. We could hear the others growing closer, and I risked running at Deucalion. If I had a shot at killing him, I would. I didn’t care that he was my father. I didn’t care that he was an alpha. He threatened my pack, and so he would pay for it. 

I was almost on him when I was stopped dead by a bullet piercing my side. He turned to me smirking as another hit my leg, dropping me to my hands and knees. The world was moving in slow motion as I tried to move, still not giving up. I could feel the wolfsbane working through my system, weakening me as black blood dripped from my nose and my mouth. 

“Aurora!” I heard Derek yell, but I could only see one thing. 

A third bullet hit my arm as I raised my arm to swipe at Deucalion. I collapsed almost instantly, my body starting to shut down as the wolfsbane poisoned my system. My vision was going blurry as I watched Deucalion step closer to me, squatting down so I could see his face. 

“You should have taken my advice.” 

And then everything was dark.


	11. Missing

“Derek, you need to calm down.” Scott said as Derek angrily paced the loft. 

“Calm down? Calm down?” Derek turned to Scott. “My daughter and now my wife are missing, and you want me to calm down!” Peter intervened before Derek tackled Scott, holding him back.

“Derek, relax. You’re not any help to us like this. You’re the only one who can find her. You can still feel her right?” 

“Yes.” Derek nodded after a moment. 

“Good. Then we know she’s not dead. You have to use your senses. You know her scent better than anyone, and he couldn’t have taken her far. If we can find her, then maybe we’ll find Rylen too, okay? We need to work together because we don’t know how long he’s planning to keep her alive.” 

*****

My whole body hurt as I slowly regained consciousness. I knew I wasn’t dead, I was far too uncomfortable for that, and I could smell someone else in the room with me. I cracked my eyes open, trying to clear my vision so I could see in the dark room. The only light was coming from two small windows high up on the wall. I groaned, trying to move, but my body hurt too much. Why wasn’t I healing? 

“Mommy?” A soft voice whispered. Someone’s hand touched my face and I slowly turned my head, cracking my eyes back open. 

“Rylen?” I whispered. 

“Mommy.” Small arms wrapped around my neck. 

I lifted my arms, wrapping them around her, pulling her tight against my chest. I breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Are you alright? Did he hurt you?” I asked, releasing her, looking her over. 

“No, I’m okay mommy.” 

I slowly worked my way into a sitting position. My shirt was soaked with black blood, but the bullet holes were all gone. I was still incredibly weak and my head was swimming as I leaned back against the wall behind me. I must not have been out long. 

“Rylen?” I held my hand out to her and she scooted closer to me. 

“I need you to tell me everything.” 

“There was a man who broke into Uncle Peter’s apartment. Uncle Peter told me to hide upstairs and I could hear them fighting. Then the man came and found me and took me away to a house. He locked me in a room, then left again. Two other men came and took me somewhere else, but they covered my eyes. They gave me food and juice and then I got really sleepy and then I woke up here. I don’t know how long it was until they brought you.” 

I pulled her closer to me. “I’m just glad you’re okay.” I said, finally looking around me. 

I shakily stood on my feet, stumbling forward to the gate in front of me. I wrapped my hands around the iron bars, staring across the basement. 

“Oh god.” I breathed. 

“What is it mommy?” Rylen asked, moving to my side. 

“I know where we are.” 

********

“Anything?” 

“No. There was a faint scent at a house not far from downtown, but they’re long gone if they were there.” Scott said. They’d been all over town and back, and there still wasn’t any sign of them. “We’ve checked everywhere. It’s like they’ve disappeared.” 

Maybe they had. 

*****

“Rylen, I need you to howl with me, okay? Just like I taught you. Just like you did the night he came and took you away. We’re gonna try and tell daddy where we are. Just keep howling no matter what, okay?” She nodded. “Alright. On three. One. Two. Three.” 

Both of us let out howls, mine obviously louder than hers, but I knew one of us would reach him. I would probably end up dead for this, but as long as Rylen made it out safely, it was worth it. 

*****

“We’ve already checked everywhere in town. There’s only so many places they could be, okay?” Stiles said. “They’ve got to be somewhere in town.” 

Both Scott and Derek perked up, a howl reached their ears, followed by a second, higher pitched one. 

“No.” Derek shook his head. “They’re not in town.” He looked to Scott. “I know where they are.” 

*****

The door slid open, a bullet hitting my stomach, stopping my howl short. Rylen stopped, watching as I fell back against the wall. I looked down, watching even more black blood seeped out of my stomach, staining my shirt even more. 

“That’s enough of that.” Deucalion stepped into the room. 

He nodded to the hunter behind him. He walked forward, unlocking the gate before pulling Rylen through, quickly locking it again. 

“No!” I fell against the bars, already feeling weak from the three shots I’d taken before, but now I could barely stand. 

“Maybe I didn’t make myself clear enough when you were shot three times.” Deucalion squatted down behind Rylen while the hunter held her still. Her eyes were wide as she stared at me, her fear permeating the air. 

Deucalion lifted his hand, his claws growing out of his skin before he plunged them into the back of Rylen’s neck. 

“No!” I screamed, holding my hand out from between the bars, Rylen’s body just out of reach. 

I watched as her eyes fluttered before closing, her body stiffening as Deucalion rifled through her memories. I sunk to the ground, still reaching out for my daughter, tears and blood leaking down my face. What had I done?


	12. Death

A deep roar, unlike any I’d heard before woke me from my unconscious state. My eyes snapped open, my body still slumped against the iron gate. Rylen was curled up just past arm’s reach from me on the other side of the gate, eyes wide as she watched the commotion in front of her. Derek had indeed found us, as well as Scott and Liam. Derek was hunched over a body on the ground. His muscles tensed as he stood, his hands falling to his sides, one clawed hand covered in blood. 

 

“No.” I breathed out, gripping the iron bars, trying to lift myself into a standing position. 

 

Derek turned, his eyes glowing red as he walked over to the gate, ripping the door open. He bent down, picking me up bridal style. Derek carried me out of the basement, walking past Stiles, Scott and Liam. I couldn’t look as he passed my father’s body. 

 

“Stiles, grab Rylen.” Derek said before turning back, carrying me up into the morning light. 

 

I was barely gripping onto consciousness as he walked, climbing in the back of a blue Jeep. I tried to ignore Rylen’s cries of fear, her heart wrenching sobs echoing in my ears. I tucked my head against Derek’s chest, under his chin as Liam climbed in beside us, Rylen cuddled against his chest, still crying. Scott and Stiles climbed in the front, Stiles driving away from the Hale House. 

 

The ride was silent, apart from Rylen’s constant sniffles. It hurt, knowing I couldn’t comfort her. None of us could, because she had no idea who we were. 

 

******

 

“You’re lucky. A few minutes more and you may not have been able to heal anymore.” Dr. Deaton said as he finished burning the wolfsbane from my system. Again. “You’ll be severely weak for a few hours, maybe even days.” 

 

I nodded silently, listening to Liam and Rylen out in the waiting room.

 

_ “Are you monsters?”  _

 

_ “No. We’re werewolves.”  _

 

_ “Werewolves are monsters.”  _

 

_ “Not us. We help fight monsters. We save people. We don’t kill them.”  _

 

Dr. Deaton looked towards the door before back at me. 

 

“I wouldn’t give up just yet. There are ways to retrieve repressed memories. They aren’t completely gone.” 

 

“But I don’t want to hurt her anymore.” I whispered. 

 

“You may not have a choice. The pain would be temporary, but the memory loss would be permanent.” Dr. Deaton said. “Go home, get some rest. You can worry about everything later.” He squeezed my hand before helping me off the exam table. 

 

“Where’s Derek?” I asked when I made it out to the waiting room. Stiles, Scott and Liam were still there. 

 

“He went back to the loft. He said he’d be back in a few minutes.” 

 

I nodded. “You can go home. Get some rest. You’ve done more than enough.” 

 

I squatted down in front of the chair that Rylen was sitting in. She watched the three teenagers leave before finally looking at me. “Hi Rylen.” I said quietly. 

 

“How do you know my name?” She asked, looking slightly afraid. 

 

“Because I’m your mommy.” 

 

“That’s not what the Alpha said.” 

 

“I know. He made you forget because he was a bad man. He wanted to hurt your daddy and I. But don’t worry. We’ll get you all fixed up in no time.” I smiled at her, hearing a car pull into the parking lot. “Do you trust me?” I asked, holding my hand out to her. 

 

She looked between my hand and my face a few times before she slowly slipped her hand into mine. She slid off the chair before letting me lead her out of the Clinic. Derek didn’t get out of the car as I approached it, helping Rylen into her car seat. 

 

I slumped in the passenger seat, the exhaustion finally hitting me. 

 

“You okay?” Derek asked as we sat at a red light. 

 

“Fine.” I said, not moving my gaze from the window. 

 

“You don’t look okay.” 

 

“I really don’t want to talk right now.” 

 

It was silent the rest of the way to the loft. 

 

“You live here?” Rylen asked, looking around the empty garage after I’d gotten her out of the car. 

 

“Yeah. It looks nicer inside. Trust me.” I said, squatting down to her level. “It’s the second safest place in Beacon Hills.” 

 

“Okay.” She said, her tone a little uncertain. 

 

She let me carry her up to the loft, her eyes wide and her heart pounding as she looked around. 

 

“What is it?” I asked. There were only three of us in the loft. 

 

“I...I think I’ve been here before.” She said quietly. 

 

Derek and I looked at each other. “Okay...what else do you remember?” 

 

“I...I remember fighting. You were fighting him.” She pointed at Derek. “And his eyes were red.” 

 

“That was a dream.” I said. “You’ve been having it for a year now.” 

 

“Oh.” She looked down. “It’s not going to happen, is it?” 

 

“No. We could never fight each other.” Well...I wouldn’t mind letting off some steam, but I knew now wasn’t the time for that. “Would you like to take a bubble bath?” She nodded. I gave Derek a look before walking to the bathroom. 

 

I ran a bath, putting plenty of bubble bath in. I felt eyes on me and turned to see Rylen staring at me. 

 

“Are you really my mommy?” She asked, tilting her head a little. 

 

It was then I really noticed how much she looked like Derek. Her green eyes the same light shade as his, that same pensive look in them he gets when he’s unsure if he should trust someone. Her eyebrows furrowing a little, mouth sloping down in the same brooding look I’d seen on him the past couple days. 

 

“Yeah. And Derek’s your daddy.” 

 

She stared at me hard for a few moments. “Good. I would want someone like you as my mommy.” 

 

I felt tears prick behind my eyes for a moment. I looked down into the bathtub as she undressed. Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to get her memories back. 

 

After her bath, I set her up on the couch, and she was asleep before her head even hit the pillow. I sat on the coffee table for a while just watching her. She looked so peaceful in that moment. So young. So innocent. It was almost like nothing had happened and everything would be okay. But it wouldn’t. 

 

“I’m taking a shower.” I said, grabbing clean clothes out of the closet. “Don’t wait up for me.” 

 

I closed the bathroom door, staring at myself in the mirror. My shirt was soaked in black blood, as well as my jeans. I stripped out of my clothes, reminding myself to destroy them later. I slipped into the shower, letting the warm water wash away all everything that had happened over the past couple days. Rylen was safe with us, and we would find out how to get her memories back. 

 

I was so distracted I didn’t notice someone had come in until a body slipped behind mine, blocking the water. 

 

“What are you doing?” I asked, running the conditioner through my hair, not bothering to turn around. 

 

“Trying to get you to talk to me.” 

 

“I already said I don’t want to talk to you.” 

 

“Just...tell me what’s wrong.” 

 

I scoffed. “I have half a mind not to, just because you had to ask me that.” 

 

“Well, I know you’re upset but-” 

 

I finally turned around, looking up at him. “Upset? I’m beyond upset, Derek. I’m borderline pissed.” 

 

“And I get that, but I just don’t know why?” 

 

“You killed my father, Derek.” 

 

“You hardly considered him your father. You would have done it, had you been given an open shot.” 

 

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you had a right to.” 

 

“Aurora, he was hurting our daughter. I barely knew what happened until it was too late. There was no way I could have stopped. Seeing you like you were, and then Rylen...” 

 

“You’re an alpha now, Derek.” I said, turning back around. “Don’t you see what’s wrong with this?” 

 

“Not really.” 

 

I turned back around to face him. “Did Rylen’s dream mean nothing to you? Derek, you were an alpha in that dream.” 

 

“But Deucalion was also there.” 

 

“We don’t know that. She never saw the person who was holding her. It could have been anyone.” 

 

Derek sighed, staring down at the shower floor. I moved him around so I was under the spray again, washing the conditioner out of my hair. Derek’s hands grabbed mine, untangling them from my hair before taking their place, his body moving closer to mine. I leaned forward resting my head against his chest. 

 

“We’ll figure it out.” He said quietly, his hands sliding out of my hair, down my arms. “We always do.”

 

I wish I could agree with him. 


	13. Healing

Rylen slept like a rock that night. But I couldn’t say the same about Derek and I. Neither of us were able to sleep much as we layed there, our backs to each other. I was still mad at him, and he was frustrated that I was mad at him. We hadn’t been like that since we were teenagers. When Peter would take us out before a full moon. 

We usually ended up camping in the woods during a full moon. Peter, almost worse than Talia was when it came to trying to get Derek and I together, would strategically only take two tents, forcing Derek and I to share. We’d fall asleep, backs facing the other, but we always ended up touching somehow when we woke in the morning. We’d unconsciously move towards one another. And neither of us liked it. 

The same thing happened that night, once both of us had finally fallen asleep for a short while. I woke up first, my head on Derek’s bicep as he was sprawled out on his back on the bed, my back against his side. Rylen was still asleep on the couch, her breathing and heart beat even. At least she was able to get some rest after everything that had happened. 

I sat up, pulling my knees to my chest, staring across the loft at my daughter. So much had happened in the short time we’d been in Beacon Hills. Maybe we should have stayed in New York. I felt guilty. I’d been the reason all of this had happened. If I would have just stayed in New York, and waited, then maybe we’d still be okay. Rylen would still remember us, Derek and I wouldn’t be mad at each other. Derek wouldn’t be an alpha either. I couldn’t help but feel a little responsible for all of this. 

If only I had listened. I thought as I laid back down, nuzzling my face into Derek’s bicep. 

()()(0)()()

“Peter’s done it before.” 

“Oh yeah, because that’s so reassuring.” 

“You’re the one who trusted him with her in the first place.” 

“And who is also in the room.” Peter said from where he was sitting next to Rylen on the couch. 

“Think about it, Derek. You could wind up hurting her, or worse.” 

“But do we really have any other choice?” 

I thought for a minute. It was worth a shot at getting her memories back, and if I wanted anyone to do it, I wanted it to be Derek. I knew he wouldn’t intentionally hurt Rylen. She was his daughter too. 

“Fine.” I said, sighing in defeat. 

Derek pulled a chair into the middle of the loft while I grabbed Rylen. I knelt in front of her, taking her hands. 

“Okay, Rylen. I need you to be really still for me okay?” She nodded, fear mixing with her confused scent. “You’re gonna be okay, I promise it will only hurt for a second, but then you won’t feel anything.” I nodded to Derek who had his claws against the back of her neck. “Okay, you can squeeze my hand as hard as you need to.” I told her. 

There was a brief look of pain on her face before it went blank, her eyes shut. I looked up to Derek, who also had his eyes shut, a look of concentration on his face. 

“Is she in pain?” Peter asked, moving around beside me. 

I tried taking her pain, but there was none there. “No.” I shook my head. 

“Good. He did it right.” 

“So he’s in?” 

“Yeah. Now I just hope he knows where to look.” 

It felt like hours that we sat there, when in reality it was only minutes. Rylen’s hands were clutched tightly in mine, but she wasn’t in pain. That was a good thing. I desperately wanted to see what was going on, but I was forced to wait there, until something happened. 

I didn’t have to wait long before Rylen winced again before Derek pulled away from her, stumbling back. Rylen fell forward against me, her head against my shoulder, her breathing heavy as she clutched my shirt. 

“Rylen, baby, are you okay?” I asked, my arms wrapped around her trembling form. 

“Mommy?” I probably wouldn’t have heard it, had it not been for my supernatural senses. 

“Rylen?” I pulled her away from my shoulder so I could look at her face. She had tears in her eyes as she looked at me. 

she put her hands on my cheeks, staring at my face. “Mommy, you’re okay.” She said before throwing her arms back around my neck, hugging me. 

“Of course I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be?” 

“Because you were hurt, and bleeding. Those men shot you.” She mumbled against my shoulder. 

“I’m okay now. All healed up. Daddy rescued us, just like I said he would.” 

Derek knelt down beside me, placing his hand on Rylen’s back. She jumped a little, but quickly stilled, sighing against my shirt. 

“Does daddy get a hug too?” Derek asked and Rylen pulled away from me, wrapping one arm around Derek’s neck, pulling him into our hug as well. 

Derek wrapped his arms around us, holding us tightly. Maybe things would be alright after all. But, little did I know, that wasn’t true. I didn’t see the look Peter was giving us as he stood a ways away.


	14. Happiness Doesn't Last Long

Derek and I must have held Rylen for a solid hour. Maybe more. We put aside our frustration and anger for the moment, feeling better now that we had our daughter back. She told us what she remembered, what happened, what she felt, all of it. I knew Derek could sense the guilt that was eating me alive on the inside. Ever since last night, when I’d been thinking about how most of this was my fault, the guilt had been gnawing away at me. 

Peter had left, saying something about wanting privacy, and so it was just the three of us, all holding one another. We were fine, to a point. I knew I couldn’t stay mad at Derek for long. He was my alpha now, in a literal sense this time. When he became alpha an after he killed Peter, I guess you could say he was my alpha then, even though I was on the opposite side of the US than he was. But I was here this time. I could already sense the instinctual dominance forming in him, and my instinctual need to follow him. 

I finally moved after a while, needing to get up and stretch a little. I stretched, my back popping as I moved. I sat down on the coffee table, facing Derek and Rylen. 

“Why don’t we go out and get some ice cream.” I said, Rylen perking up a little bit at that. 

“Really?” She asked, staring up at me. 

“Well, if Daddy’s okay with it.” 

Derek look at me for a second with an unreadable expression on his face. But then he looked down at Rylen and his face softened a little. “I think that’s a great idea.” 

Derek drove us to the ice cream shop, all of us silent on the drive over. I knew Derek wanted to talk, but we had to take care of our baby first. 

We got our ice cream, sitting down in a booth near the window. Rylen sat by me, quietly eating her ice cream. We were all quiet, lost in thought. Until I smelled it, I perked up, looking around the shop, but there were only two other people, including the person working. 

“I smell blood.” Derek said quietly, leaning over the table towards me. I looked around more before looking down at myself. “I think it’s coming from you.” 

“I’ll be right back.” I said, getting up and hurrying to the bathroom. 

No, no, no this cannot be happening. I burst into the stall, pulling down my underwear, looking at the blood stain. I felt the tears burn under my eyes, and I had to clap a hand over my mouth to keep the sobs in. Though, I wasn’t sure why I was surprised. After everything that had happened...it would have been a miracle. I wiped my tears, cleaned myself up before heading back out. 

“Are you ready to go?” I asked, not even bothering sitting back down. 

“Yeah.” Derek said, sliding out of the booth. 

I picked up Rylen, holding her close as we walked back out to the car. I didn’t want to let her go, but I knew I had to. Derek gave me a look before he pulled out of the parking lot. I didn’t want to look at him. I didn’t want to look at anyone. 

Derek put Rylen down for a nap while I went up to the roof to get some air. I heard the door open, Derek’s footsteps coming closer to my position. I didn’t move, my knees tucked into my chest. Derek sat down next to me, hesitating for a moment before wrapping his arm around me, pulling me against his chest. 

The tears started falling and I couldn’t stop them. Derek’s sorrow, added onto mine was only making it worse. I knew that he knew what had happened. I didn’t have to tell him anything. 

“I’m so sorry.” I whispered. “I brought this on us. I should have stayed in New York.” 

“No. Don’t say that.” Derek said, pulling away from me so he could cup my face. “It was my fault. I shouldn’t have kept you in the dark. I should have called you, something.” He sighed, leaning his forehead against mine. His thumbs rubbed my cheeks softly as both of us sat quietly. “Rylen is safe, you’re safe, you’re alive, I’m alive. You’re here with me.” He nuzzled his nose against mine. “We can always try again.” 

“I know. But not yet.” I whispered, clutching on to his jacket. “We should wait until we’re sure we’re safe. Danger in Beacon Hills tends to sneak up on you where you're least expecting it.” 

Little did I know how true those words were about to become.


	15. Months Pass

The months went on, the town unusually quiet as we moved on from the tragedy that had happened. Derek and I fixed up the Hale House, then we officially moved in not long after. It was nice, having our own space again, Rylen settling in well in her new living environment. Derek took a trip to New York for a weekend, packing up the apartment, and bringing our stuff back to California. 

Things were going well between Derek and I. He showed no sign of wanting to build a pack again, though I didn’t blame him after what had happened the last time. Rylen was growing up fast, and she’d soon be starting preschool. It was something neither Derek, nor I were ready for, though we knew public education would be good for her. She didn’t really have the chance to get out and be social, with everything that was going on between Derek and I, so we decided that would be her best option. 

It would also give Derek and I more time to ourselves to work on our relationship. It was no lie, losing the baby had taken a toll on both of us. Me, more so than Derek. I still felt responsible for everything, and the guilt was wearing me down. I could hardly sleep next to Derek, I felt so guilty.   
Rylen started school, and made lots of friends whose mothers I quickly became acquainted with. Some understood what I was going through, and offered to let Rylen sleep over if Derek and I ever needed a night to ourselves. 

We took advantage of that, finally, both Derek and I deciding we needed to talk things through. Rylen’s friend’s mother picked her up from school, leaving Derek and I the whole day to work things out. 

We spent most of the morning talking through things. We hadn’t talked about the baby since the day it happened, shoving it all down and burying ourselves so we didn’t have to feel anything. But our talking quickly became kissing, then touching, then love making. I hadn’t gone through a heat cycle since the one I’d had when I first came to Beacon Hills with Rylen. The stress of everything shoved it all down. 

Derek and I didn’t leave the bed until the early evening, our growling stomachs the only reason we got up. I stretched my sore muscles, pulling on Derek’s shirt before heading down to the kitchen to start on dinner. 

Derek and I worked things out that night, our lives seemingly going back to normal, like they had been back in New York. Derek and I started fixing up the apartments in the building he owned, hoping to start renting them out soon. It wasn’t like we didn’t have money, but having something coming in would be a plus, and it would keep both of us busy, which is what we needed. 

A month passed and it was coming close to the start of the holiday season. Halloween was around the corner, and Rylen couldn’t have been more excited. She loved Halloween, not just because she got lots of candy, but because she got to dress up. It was only her second year trick-or-treating, but she was bouncing off the walls she was so excited.   
I was not, on the other hand, so excited. I had been feeling sick for the past couple days, and I knew it wasn’t because of the flu. Werewolves don’t get the flu. Werewolves only get sick because of one thing. So, when I took Rylen to get her Halloween costume, I also picked up a few pregnancy tests. I was shaking slightly at the thought. I knew it would happen eventually, but you didn’t know if I was prepared for it. 

So I got Rylen preoccupied with a coloring book before heading up to the bathroom to take the tests. I hadn’t told Derek yet that I was taking the tests, not wanting to get him all worked up if it was a false alarm. 

Derek had changed when he became an alpha. He didn’t have a desire to turn anyone, but he did have a strong desire to expand the pack through mating. His wolf wanted more pups in our pack, and my wolf was ready to roll over in submission to that. So when I saw the positive pregnancy test, I knew he’d be happy. Well, at least his wolf would be. 

The human side of Derek, well, that could take some convincing.


	16. Telling Derek

“Derek, I’m pregnant.” 

I had practiced it over and over in front of the mirror for the last hour. I knew I’d have to tell him eventually, because he’d find out on his own. My hormones would change, and my scent would change. Then he’d be able to hear the baby’s heartbeat. 

I heard a car pull up outside the house, Derek’s scent washing over me as he got out of the car. I took a deep breath, knowing now would be better than later. I just didn’t know how he’d take it. 

“Daddy!” I heard Rylen yell, her small feet padding across the floor to Derek. 

I took another deep breath before leaving the room, heading down the stairs. I could hear Rylen telling Derek about our day, showing him the pictures she’d colored. I leaned against the door frame, watching Derek as he listened intently to what Rylen was saying. He was a great dad. He always had been. Rylen was his pup. His little princess. I knew he wanted lots of pups, to rebuild the Hale pack again. I was used to being an only child, though I had always wanted children. And here I was, about to make Derek’s dream a reality. 

“Hey.” I jumped in surprise as Derek appeared in front of me. “You okay?” 

“Yeah.” I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. “Just lost in thought.” I gulped down my nerves, looking up at his face. “Can we talk? Upstairs?” I lowered my voice so Rylen wouldn’t hear us. 

Derek frowned. “Yeah. Sure.” 

“Daddy and I are gonna talk for a second, okay?” I told Rylen. 

“Okay.” She said, opening her coloring book back up. 

“We won’t be long.” 

I followed Derek back up to our room, Derek stripping out of his leather jacket before sitting on the bed. 

“So what do you need to talk about?” 

The hour I spent practicing, suddenly did not feel like enough. My mouth went dry as I stood in front of him, my mind going blank on the words I had practiced for so long. 

“Something’s happened.” I said finally. 

Derek frowned again. “What is it? What’s going on?” He leaned forward, taking my hand, pulling me so I was standing closer to him. “You can tell me.”

I took a deep breath, staring into his green eyes. “I’m pregnant, Derek.” 

His face was blank for a moment before his brow furrowed, his eyes falling to the floor. I felt my stomach start to twist as he stared at the floor. He looked back up to me, his eyes glinting. 

“I’m so glad.” He said, wrapping his arms around me, burying his face into my stomach. “I’m so, so glad.” 

“Wait, what?” 

“You’re having another baby.” He said, pulling back from my stomach. “That’s great!” 

“Great? You-you’re not mad? Or upset?” 

“Why would I be mad? What happened, happened, and if you’re okay with it, then I am too.” His hands squeezed my sides for a moment. “Rylen’s going to have a sibling.” 

He nuzzled his face into my stomach, inhaling deeply before letting his breath fan over my skin. 

“It’s gonna be a boy. I just know it.” He murmured, before kissing my stomach. 

“Oh, are you sure? What if it’s a girl.” 

“No, it’s definitely a boy.” He pulled me down so I was straddling his waist. “You’ll see.” 

He pressed his lips against mine, his arms wrapping around my waist. I could feel the joy coming from him, not just through his kiss. It seemed to be coming out of his pores. It was infectious as well, joy filling me as well. There was a life growing inside me, and I knew we would both protect it fiercely. 

And Derek did. 

He put me on lockdown, his protective instincts taking over. After what happened, I wasn’t surprised. He wanted to keep Rylen at home as well, but I nixed that idea. She needed to go to school, and I knew I wouldn’t stay at home either. I finally broke, telling Derek I’d text him when I left and when I got back, since he was busy working on the apartment building. He didn’t want me helping him, as there was a small risk I could get hurt.

I hated it, but at the same time, I felt the same way. Nothing was going to happen to this baby. Not if I could stop it.


	17. Christmas With The Hales

It was early December, and the baby was growing quickly. It had almost been two months, yet I was double the size of a normal two month pregnancy. We had told Rylen, and she was ecstatic to be a big sister. We hadn’t gone to Dr. Deaton to find out the gender yet, wanting to wait until closer to Christmas. 

I kept myself busy baking, shopping, wrapping gifts, decorating. Derek had finally finished the apartment building in time for the holidays, potential renters already showing interest. Derek was still being overprotective, constantly making sure I was okay, and doing things for me I was more than capable of doing myself. But I couldn’t totally blame him. He wanted to protect me, and the baby, and I did as well. It made me nervous, though, with how quiet the town has been. Compared to what it was like when Derek was here by himself, it was a little unnerving that it got so quiet so fast. I would have said it was a nice change, but I knew better than to speak too soon. Especially when it came to Beacon Hills. 

Rylen was finally out of school until January and I wanted to take her shopping for Derek’s present. I never knew what to get him, as he never wanted anything. He wasn’t really one for material treasures. He said he already had what he wanted. But I still wanted to get him something, and I knew Rylen did as well. 

And that was when I saw it. 

I knew Derek would hate me for buying it, but the look on his face would be priceless, as well as the pictures that I would take. I had a plan for Rylen to give it to him when we got home, since he could never refuse her. That way, I knew he would have no choice but to wear it. 

Derek was already home when Rylen and I arrived. I had finally figured out what we were going to get him, plus an extra surprise. 

I unbuckled Rylen’s seatbelt before helping her out of the car. I handed her the bag from the trunk, bending down so I could whisper to her. 

“You remember what to do, right?” 

“Yup.” She took the bag from me before racing into the house. 

I listened as Derek greeted her, Rylen telling him we got him an early Christmas present. I could feel Derek’s surprise quickly change into annoyance. He had opened, but I knew he wouldn’t say no to Rylen. 

I walked in the door, bags in hand while Rylen’s cackle echoed from the living room. I set the bags at the bottom of the stairs before entering the living room. I had to bite back a laugh at the sight of a very brooding Derek in a Christmas sweater. 

“Really?” He asked, staring at me. 

“I thought the polar bears were cute. Rylen agreed that you would look great in it.” I walked towards him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I think the green brings out your eyes.” 

He gave me a look, asking “do I have to wear it?” I nodded, pressing a soft kiss to his lips before pulling away.

“You can wear it Christmas morning so I can take lots of embarrasing pictures of you.” 

Derek just playfully glared at me. 

\--------

“Hey Rylen?” I asked from my spot next to Derek on the couch. It was Christmas morning and Rylen was sitting on the floor amidst wrapping paper and toys. “Guess what.” 

“What?” She asked, turning away from her dollhouse. 

“You know how Mommy’s having another baby?” 

“Uh huh.” 

“Well, Mommy’s having a baby boy. You’re getting a little brother.” 

Rylen squealed in delight, jumping up from her place on the floor before climbing on the couch beside me. She wrapped her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly. 

“I’m getting a little brother! I’m going to be the best big sister ever!” 

“I bet you are! He’ll be here in about three months. Remember what I told you about werewolf babies?” 

“They grow faster than normal babies.” 

“That’s right.” Derek said. 

“Do you know his name yet?” 

“We haven’t picked one out yet. Maybe we can find one together. How does that sound?” 

“Good.” Rylen said, hugging me again. 

“Now, Mommy has to go start on breakfast. Why doesn’t Daddy play dolls with you for a while.” I looked over at Derek. 

His head turned to me slightly, his eyes drooping a little, despite the coffee in his hand. Rylen had gotten us up super early this morning, wanting to see what Santa had brought her. Derek smiled at me before stretching, then following Rylen down on the floor. I got up, making my way to the kitchen to start on our breakfast, my baby boy wiggling around in my stomach for a moment before stilling. That, along with Derek and Rylen’s voices in the other room a reminder of what I had to be thankful for.


	18. Full Moon

The New Year came and went, and our lives returned to normal. Rylen went back to school, and Derek went off to do whatever it was he did during the day. I stayed at home, only going out to go shopping or pick Rylen up from school occasionally. Derek usually was the one to go out run errands, since I was pregnant and the baby was growing faster than a normal, human baby. Dr. Deaton said we could expect him any time between late February and the end of March.

He was starting to move around a lot. More so than Rylen did at the werewolf equivalent of six months. The full moon was two nights away, and I knew that was not helping anything. Even I was feeling the effects of this moon. I hadn't felt this out of control in years, and it scared me.

"How's my little man doing?" Derek's voice startled me out of my thoughts. I hadn't even heard him come in.

"Strangely active for this time of day." I said, rubbing my stomach.

Derek knelt down beside the chair I was sitting in, his hand resting on my stomach as well. The baby gave a hard kick, making me gasp a little.

"He knows his daddy, all right." I said. "Sorry, babe. I don't think you're getting your basketball player."

"There's still hope yet." Derek said, pressing a gentle kiss to the bump before standing back up.

He offered me a hand which I accepted, letting him pull me up out of the chair. I wrapped my arms around his neck, leaning my head against his shoulder. His arms wrapped around my waist, holding me as close to him as he could.

"How are you doing?" He asked, looking down at me slightly.

"I'm alright."

"Nervous?"

"A little. I haven't felt like this in years."

"It's the baby. You'll be fine. Your body won't shift unless there's any present danger. Which I highly doubt there will be."

"I hope that's the case."

()()0()()

The full moon came, Derek and I spending most of our night on the couch, watching Rylen run around the house with seemingly never ending energy.

"She's starting to feel it." I said as I watched her run another lap from the living room out into the hall, through the kitchen and dining room, then back around, a blanket flying behind her like a cape. "A little earlier than usual."

"She's still got plenty of time left before she'll start shifting." Derek said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. I shifted so I was leaning my back against his side, my head falling back on his shoulder. "And this guy's ever the active baby." He said, rubbing a hand over my stomach.

"His heartbeat's faster tonight than it has been." I shifted uncomfortably as he kicked again. "And it feels like he's trying to claw his way out."

Derek rubbed soothing circles over my stomach as Rylen came to a screeching halt in front of us, falling to the floor dramatically with a sigh.

"Tired yet?" Derek asked.

"Nope." She said, jumping to her feet, skipping circles around the couch.

"Well, that's too bad because you're going to bed."

"Aww." She whined. "Why can't I stay up with you?"

"Because we're going to bed too." I said, standing up from the couch. "Mommy's tired." I held my hand out to her and she took it reluctantly.

Derek put her to bed, finally getting her to at least lay still. We both knew it would be a while before she'd fall asleep. Probably not until the early hours of the morning.

"Have you thought of names yet?" Derek asked as he shut the door to our bedroom.

"I haven't found any I like yet." I said, flipping through a magazine.

Derek pulled his shirt over his head, his belt clinking as it hit the floor. I kept my eyes on the magazine as he sauntered over to the bed, laying on his back beside me.

"What about Grayson?" I said, looking away from my magazine at Derek. "Grayson James Hale." Derek was silent, and I shrugged. "I think it's cute."

"I like it. It's unusual, but I like it."

"Says the guy who talked me into naming our daughter Rylen."

"True." He said, pointing his finger at me.

I leaned over, snapping my teeth at it, only to barely miss it as he pulled away.

"Feisty tonight, aren't we?"

My eyes scanned his body, lingering momentarily at the bulge forming in his briefs.

"Apparently, I'm not the only one."

I tossed the magazine on the bedside table before turning the lamp off, the only light being the moon, streaming in the window as Derek and I lost ourselves in each other.


	19. Unknown Visitors

I wasn't sure what time it was, but I knew Derek and I hadn't been asleep long. Derek had his arms around my waist, his face tucked into my shoulder. I wasn't sure at first what it was that had woken me, until I heard another crash from downstairs.

"Derek?" I whispered, my voice barely audible.

"Go to Rylen's room. Lock yourselves in there." He was out of bed in a flash, his body dropping on its hands and knees before he nosed the door open with his muzzle, his wolf form disappearing down the hall. I grabbed my nightgown and robe before silently making my way down the hall to Rylen's room.

I couldn't smell anything unusual in the air, nor hear anything around. Maybe some dumb kids had just thrown something through the window. Rylen's breathing was even as she slept, seemingly undisturbed by the commotion downstairs. I locked her door, moving over towards the window.

"Mommy?" She said quietly, her voice still groggy from sleep.

"Shh." I said, sitting down on the side of her bed. "It's okay, go back to sleep."

"I heard something."

"I know. Daddy went down to check it out. Go back to sleep."

"They said they wanted the baby."

"What?" My head snapped back to her, where she was sitting up in bed.

"I heard them whispering. They wanted the baby, but they weren't going to take it just yet."

I jumped when I heard a knock on the door.

"Aurora? It's me."

I nearly ran over to the door, unlocking it so Derek could get in.

"Did you see anyone?"

"No. There was no one in the house. Not even a scent. Window downstairs in the living room was broken though. No sign of entry."

I sighed, but I didn't know if it was from relief or nerves. "Rylen, stay here, okay?"

"But I want to come with you."

"Daddy and I are just going to talk in the hallway. Then we'll come back. We won't go far."

Derek followed me back to our room, anxiety taking over my body. The baby stirred, feeling what I was feeling. I tried to calm myself down, knowing the stress wasn't good for the baby. Derek's hands found my shoulders, making me jump slightly at the contact.

"What's going on?"

"Rylen said she heard someone talking. She called it 'them.' She said they wanted the baby."

"She could have been dreaming."

"But what if she wasn't?"

()()0()()

The three of us made our way to the vet clinic to talk to Dr. Deaton the next day. My nerves still hadn't settled and Derek and I had spent the rest of the night in Rylen's room. She was just as freaked out as us, remembering everything that happened clearly, making it clear that it wasn't just some nightmare we'd shared. It had really happened.

"So tell me what happened." Dr. Deaton asked as soon as we were back in his exam room. Scott was there as well.

"Both Derek and I woke up hearing what sounded like someone breaking in through a window." I said, looking over to Derek who nodded. "I didn't smell or hear anything-"

"And there was no sign of anyone in the house. No scent, or trail, nothing." Derek said.

"I thought maybe it was just some kids fooling around, but there wasn't anything that we could find that could have been thrown through the window." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "But Rylen said she heard something.

"What did she hear?" Dr. Deaton asked.

Derek bent down, picking Rylen up so she could sit on the exam table. "Tell Dr. Deaton what you heard."

"I heard a crash and then voices whispering. They were talking outside my room. They said they wanted the baby, but they weren't going to take it just yet."

"Did you recognize the voices?" Dr. Deaton asked.

"No. They were muffled. Kind of like they were talking underwater. I was scared to move. I thought they might come in and get me."

"What kind of creature leaves no scent trail? And what would it want with a baby?" Scott asked.

"There are very few creatures capable of hiding their scents. None of which have been seen in America in more than a century. Since the 1800's. Some before that. But what they would want with a werewolf baby..." Deaton shook his head. "I'll have to do some research. But for now, keep your eyes open. If you see any strange creatures, or people acting strange, come here immediately." He turned to Scott. "That goes for you too. Whatever these things are, I highly doubt they're only here for one baby."


	20. Trouble Brewing

Scott had gotten his pack involved in watching for any sign of suspicious behavior. Of course Stiles already had a long list of people, but his dad had quickly nixed everyone off that list. Derek hadn’t been sleeping much, while Rylen had been staying in our bed. She was still shaken up over what had happened, and why she was the only one that heard them. It was hard, not having an answer for her, but I knew we weren’t going to have to wait long for one. 

We went on for a month like that and it was nearing Valentine’s Day. Derek and I never really got into Valentine’s Day, as neither of us were really the romantic type. Meanwhile Rylen’s class was having a party, and she needed Valentine’s for her classmates. I was a little anxious about going to the store, but I knew I could defend us if need be. The last thing I was going to do was lose this baby again. Not when I was so close. 

Everything seemed to go smoothly at the store, Rylen picking out Barbie Valentines for the girls and Star Wars for the boys. We also got candy to tape to the Valentine’s. It was a nostalgic moment, taking me back to my elementary school days. I was so lost in sentiment, I almost didn’t notice the man staring at us from across the parking lot as I loaded our bags into the trunk. 

“Rylen, get in the car.” I told her, putting the rest of the bags away quickly. 

The man’s eyes never left me. He was tall, and wearing a dirty trench coat, and what looked like an old cowboy hat from a Western movie. I closed the trunk of the car, locking it, but I knew that probably wouldn’t do much, compared to what he could do. He looked like the kind of guy who could pick up the car and throw it if he had to. I put the cart away before heading back to the car, my eyes staying partially on him as I pulled back on to the road. 

I drove towards the Vet clinic, my eyes flicking to the rear view mirror every few feet, half expecting him to be following us. 

“Who was that, Mommy?” Rylen asked me. 

“I don’t know, sweetie.” 

“He looked mean. I hope we never meet him in person.” 

“You and me both.” I said under my breath. 

I pulled up to the Vet clinic, scanning the parking lot before helping Rylen out of the car. I scanned the area one more time before entering the clinic. 

“How can I help-Aurora?” Dr. Deaton said. 

“I saw someone.” 

Dr. Deaton led Rylen and I back into the exam room, a couple of the dogs barking, sensing my nerves. 

“Where was he?” 

“At the store. I didn’t see him until Rylen and I left. He was standing across the parking lot from us.” 

“What did he look like?” 

“He was tall. Wearing a dirty, brown trench coat and an old cowboy hat. The flat kind that you see in old Western movies. He looked like he could flip a car over easily if he really wanted to. His eyes never left me.” 

Dr. Deaton sighed, pulling a book out of one of the cabinets. He set it down on the exam table, flipping the pages until he found the one he was looking for. He turned the book, sliding it towards me. 

“Phoenix?” I read, my eyes scanning over the pages. 

“Very rare now days. I’ve only heard of five known Phoenixes. Nearly indestructible, immortal, stronger than a werewolf. Their only known weakness is iron, though if you wound one fatally, you have a chance of weakening it to a state where it can’t heal fully. I’ve never seen one in person. The last known Phoenix in America disappeared in the 1860’s. I don’t know why they’d come back now. Especially here.” 

“We do live in a Beacon for supernatural creatures.” 

“But most Phoenixes like to keep themselves relatively unknown to the world.” Deaton turned the book back towards him. “They weren’t very popular even when there were more of them. Now that there’s so few, they went into hiding to avoid extinction.” Deaton closed the book, looking back up at me. “Keep your eye out. Make sure that he’s not following you, or that there aren’t more of them.” 

I nodded, looking down at Rylen, who was looking up at me. 

“Are they going to hurt us?” She asked me. 

“No, baby. They won’t.” I wish I could believe those words myself. 

()()0()()

I didn’t see the man again after the encounter at the grocery store. I told Derek, and Derek told Scott’s pack about the man. They said they’d keep an eye out for him, or anyone who looks like him. 

It was nearing March and the baby was growing even more. I could literally pop at any moment, bringing our son into the world. A part of me wished I could keep him in until we figured out what the Phoenix wanted, or at least until he was gone. But I knew that wouldn’t be possible, or entirely comfortable. 

I had made dinner that night, needing to work my anxiety down, but nothing I did seemed to help. I still saw him, every time I looked outside, he was standing there until I blinked, then he would vanish. It was terrifying, knowing my family could possibly be in danger. Derek had spent a lot of his time with Scott’s pack, trying to find the Phoenix, but it was like he just disappeared. There was no trace of him anywhere. No one had died, no one had gone missing, it was almost like it was a figment of our imaginations, but I knew better. The man I’d seen had been very real, and he was haunting me. 

Even in my sleep I saw him. Nightmares of him taking my baby boy from me. Tonight I was in the middle of giving birth, when I looked up and saw the doctor. It was the Phoenix. I screamed, whether from pain or fear, maybe both, as he delivered my baby, nearly ripping him from my body. My baby who was covered in black ashes. 

I jolted awake, my body shaking and covered in sweat. Derek wasn’t next to me, but I could hear his heartbeat downstairs. I ran a hand over my face, wiping the sweat from my forehead before a sharp pain ripped through my lower body. I groaned, placing a hand on my swollen stomach. I breathed through the pain, wetness soaking through my shirt and into the sheets. It took a moment, but the pain finally resonated and my brain finally woke up. 

“Derek!” I called, groaning as another wave of pain washed over me. He was beside me in a second. “Get Rylen dressed, the baby’s coming now.” 

“Mommy?” I heard Rylen say from the doorway. 

“Go get your shoes on and a jacket. Maybe a coloring book too.” Derek said, trying to usher Rylen from the room. 

“What’s going on?” She asked. 

“Mommy’s going to have her baby. We need to get her to the doctor.”


	21. Birth

“Breathe, just breathe.” Derek said, one hand clutching mine while the other steered us towards the hospital. The contractions were getting closer and closer. This baby was not messing around. “Hey! Aurora, breathe.” I hadn’t realized I’d stopped breathing. 

Derek pulled up next to Stiles’ Jeep, Scott and Stiles jumping out as soon as we got here. Derek helped Rylen out before me, telling her to stay with Scott and Stiles while he took care of me. Derek scooped me into his arms, carrying me towards the entrance. 

Mrs. McCall met us there, Derek putting me down in a wheelchair, before I was pushed towards the maternity ward. I clutched Derek’s hand, feeling some of the pain leaving my body. I looked up at him, sending him a glare, to which he just shrugged at me. 

I was helped onto a bed, Derek helping me into the hospital gown. A nurse came in and checked me over, saying I was dialed quite a bit. 

“A few more centimeters and you’ll be good to go. This baby’s coming quick.” 

“He want’s to be born.” 

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing.” 

It was only an hour or two before they deemed me ready to start pushing. I was beyond ready to get this baby out, the pain taking over. 

I wasn’t sure how many profanities I yelled, how many times I told Derek I hated him, but it wasn’t long before he was crowning. The entire ordeal was a sweaty mess of pain and blood, the overly sterile scent of the hospital, the cheap perfume one of the nurses was wearing, Derek’s scent was all too much. I was so close though, so close to bringing this little life into this world. 

“One more big push and he’ll be out.” 

I squeezed Derek’s hand, feeling my son leave my body, his cries filling the room around me. A nurse put him up on my chest, his body covered in pus and blood, but I didn’t care. He was here, and he was healthy. He had a tuft of black hair on his head, much like Rylen had when she was born. I felt tears slip down my cheeks, totally blind to everything happening around me as I stared down at my son. 

I didn’t want to let him go, but I knew he had to get cleaned up, and then I could hold him again. Derek took my hand again, pressing a kiss to my forehead. 

“You did it.” He whispered, his lips brushing my skin, his voice shaking with unshed tears. “You did it.” 

()()0()()

I drifted off to sleep for a while, exhausted by everything that had happened in such a short time. When I woke up, Derek was sitting beside the hospital bed in a chair, our son in his arms. 

“Grayson James Hale.” He said, staring down at the sleeping baby. “Our little boy.” 

“Let me hold him.” I said, holding my arms out. 

Derek stood, passing him over to me, before leaning down, pressing another kiss to my forehead. 

“He looks like you.” I said, running my finger over his little cheek. 

“But he has your eyes.” Derek said. 

“Has Rylen been in yet?” 

“No. No one has.” 

“Well, let them see the baby.” I said, shaking my head at him and his protective alpha side. 

Derek went out the door, not having to go far before finding Scott, Stiles, Rylen and Melissa. I ignored what he was saying, focusing instead on my son. His eyes cracked open slightly, the chocolate brown orbs staring up at my face. 

“Hi buddy.” I whispered, smiling down at him. “Hi Grayson.” He smiled a little at me before his eyes drifted closed again, his little heart slowing as he fell back asleep. 

“Mommy!” Rylen said, running over to my side. 

“Hi munchkin.” 

Derek lifted her up so she could sit next to me in the hospital bed. “Is this my brother?” 

“Yeah. This is Grayson.” 

“He’s so tiny.” She said, tenderly stroking her cheek with her finger. 

“So were you when you were born.” 

“I can’t wait for him to get big so we can play together.” 

“I know. I bet he’ll love that.” 

()()0()()

We spent another couple of days in the hospital before they let us go, Grayson finally getting to come home. We had the nursery set up between Rylen’s room, and our room so we could watch over both of them. Grayson hadn’t really been crying all that much, which was unusual. I mean, he still had his moments, but for the most part he was pretty quiet. 

But that all changed one night when he began screaming. Derek and I were up in a flash, but neither of us could sense anything wrong. Derek went to send Rylen back to bed, ever the helpful hand she was, wanting to help us with baby brother. I thought maybe he was hungry, or needed a diaper change, until I touched his skin. It was burning hot, even to my touch. 

“Derek!” I called, Derek appearing next to me immediately. “Feel his forehead.” 

Derek frowned as he placed a hand on Grayson’s forehead. “Is he running a fever?” 

“I don’t know. It’s really high if it is.” 

“We should call Deaton.” 

“At this time of night?” 

“We can’t take him to a hospital if there’s something else wrong with him. There’d be no way to explain it to them. What if he shifted in front of the doctor?” 

Derek was silent for a moment, the only sound coming from Grayson. He sighed, looking back up at me. “I’ll go call him.” 

I picked Grayson up, cradling his warm body in my arms, rocking him, trying to get him to calm down, but nothing seemed to be working. My instincts were taking over, my tongue running over his cheek a couple times, wanting to soothe any discomfort he felt. I needed to know what was wrong, and I hoped there was a way to fix it.


	22. From the Ashes

I held Grayson in my arms in the back seat as Derek sped off towards the Vet clinic. Rylen was half asleep in her car seat next to me, despite Grayson’s screaming. It was getting worse and his temperature was spiking. It would have been dangerously high for a normal baby, but I knew my son was no normal baby. 

Dr. Deaton let us in as soon as we got there, Derek grabbing Rylen as I rushed in with Grayson, Dr. Deaton getting prepared to do an examination. 

“When did it start?” He asked me as I laid Grayson on the exam table. 

“Maybe an hour ago. He just woke up screaming, and his temperature was really high. It’s been rising since. It’s far too high for this to be normal, even for a werewolf.” 

Dr. Deaton examined him, taking his temperature, checking him over for any signs of an infection or any kind of cut. Derek appeared next to me, Rylen in his arms. Dr. Deaton picked up Grayson and then we saw it. He turned Grayson on his side slightly so he could see his back. 

There was what looked like a giant burn mark covering most of his back. I gasped, slapping a hand over my mouth, tears gathering in my eyes. Derek grabbed my free hand, squeezing it tightly. 

“You were right when you said this wasn’t normal.” Dr. Deaton said, laying Grayson back down on the table. “Your son isn’t a werewolf.” He said, looking between Derek and I. “It all makes sense now.” He murmured, as he turned and dug through one of the drawers. 

“Oh god.” I breathed, realizing what he was saying. “B-but how? How could...” I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it. 

“It’s rare, but not impossible.” 

“Wait, will someone tell me what’s going on?” Derek said. 

“Your son is a Phoenix.” Dr. Deaton said, looking up from where he was lathering a cream over the growing burn mark on Grayson’s back. “Occasionally, when two supernatural creatures of the same kind mate, they can produce something entirely different from what they are. Usually, it’s something that’s in the bloodline.” 

“My mom used to tell me that she wasn’t full werewolf.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “She said there was something else in her, someone way back in her family tree mated with something else, but she never told me what it was. You don’t think...” 

“It’s possible. If it’s that far back, it could have been true. It could have very well been the one you saw a few weeks ago.” 

“But why now? Why is it showing now?” 

“It all goes back to the Y-chromosome. Rylen could be part Phoenix as well, but we probably won’t ever know. Just like you. You could be part Phoenix, which passed on to your son.” 

I stared down at Grayson, his eyes screwed shut as he screamed in pain, the burn crawling further along his skin. 

“Is there anything you can do for him?” I asked, my voice breaking. 

“Not this early, and risk hurting him. It’ll pass, we just have to give it time.” 

Derek took Rylen out to the waiting room, letting her sleep on his shoulder as he sat in one of the chairs. I stayed in the exam room with Grayson as the burns spread to cover his entire body. I tried to take as much pain from him as I could, but it was never ending. Dr. Deaton rubbed ointment on his skin, but it didn’t seem to help anything. Eventually, he was completely covered in burns, his skin almost turning black, like ash. Just like in my dream. 

And it made sense now. Why the Phoenix was showing himself now. Because he knew there was another one being born. Dr. Deaton had said they were rare now days, and I’m sure the birth of one was quite the event for their kind. But it just had to be us. We’d never be able to live normal lives. Catastrophe and danger seemed to follow us everywhere. 

Grayson’s cries quieted, the burns starting to disappear, leaving fresh, new skin behind. It was totally blemish free, not even a sign that there had been anything wrong just seconds before. I ran my fingers over his arm, his skin still warm, but not what it was before. 

“How often do you think it’ll happen?” I asked, looking up at Dr. Deaton. 

“It’s hard to say. But I’m sure there’s a pattern. It’ll get easier for him as he grows, and I’m sure there’s some way to control it. But unfortunately my expertise does not involve training a Phoenix.”

I smiled a little. “Nothing’s ever easy, is it?” 

“In this town, it’s not likely.”


	23. Betrayal

Life with Grayson was hard. We quickly learned the patterns of his episodes, but it was no easier to watch him suffer like that, knowing there was nothing we could do for him. He grew fast in the few months that we’d had him home. Almost as fast as a werewolf baby. There had been no signs of the Phoenix, or anything unusual going on in town, but I knew better than to speak too quickly. 

Peter had been over once to see the baby since we’d brought him home. We hadn’t told anyone about what he was, or his episodes since we weren’t even sure ourselves with what to do. We didn’t need worse things happening that what was already transpiring. Peter seemed distant, unusual to the way he normally was. He only held Grayson for a short amount of time before he and Derek went off to talk. I had been a little hesitant to let Rylen go back to school, but I knew she needed to finish up this year, which was rapidly coming to an end. That I was grateful for. 

It hadn’t even been five minutes since Peter and Derek went outside to talk before the door was being kicked in. My instincts kicked in, my eyes glowing as I jumped in front of Grayson and Rylen, baring my teeth at the intruder. 

“No need to get all worked up.” The Phoenix said. “I’m just here for the boy.” 

He moved forward a step, but I snapped at him, letting out a warning growl. Where were Derek and Peter? “You will not touch my son.” 

The Phoenix laughed, showing his teeth as he smiled. “I don’t want to hurt you.” He started coming closer. “This can be done easily.” I backed up closer to Grayson who had started crying. “Or I can kill you now.” 

I turned slightly, keeping one eye on the Phoenix, the other on Rylen. “Rylen, take your brother upstairs. Now.” I waited until they were out of sight before I let out a roar, my features transforming, my claws lengthening. 

The Phoenix sighed, unbuttoning his coat. “It’s the hard way then.” 

His threw his coat off, his entire body catching fire. His clothes burned away, his skin darkening, turning black like Grayson’s did. His eyes were like embers, burning into my own electric blue as I stood between him and my son.

He lunged at me, swinging his fiery claws at me, but I ducked out of the way, kicking him back, feeling my skin burn where it touched the flame, though it quickly healed. He swung at me, but I caught his fist halfway to my face. His other hand grabbed my wrist, my skin burning where he touched, but I barely felt the pain. All of my instincts were telling me to protect my pack. Protect my son. He flipped me over, my back hitting the floor painfully, but it quickly passed. I jumped back to my feet, clawing at his chest before he could grab at me. He cried out, stumbling back before the wounds closed before my very eyes. 

He looked back up at me, smirking. “Can’t take me out that easily.” 

I lunged at him, swinging my claws, but he jumped out of the way. We went back and forth for a couple minutes before he caught me by surprise, kicking me back against the wall. I crumbled in a heap, coughing blood up onto the floor. I heard footsteps approaching and Peter came around the corner, looking down at me. 

“Peter, help.” I wheezed out, more blood slipping between my lips. I was healing, but slowly. 

Peter chuckled, moving so he was squatting by my head. “It’s funny, isn’t it, how people never seem to change? How easy it is for some people to put up a front, get what they want, then tear down everyone around them? Originally it was supposed to be the girl. Little Rylen. When Deucalion was here over a year ago, he and I made a little proposition. I told him about you, and he thought it was only right that his granddaughter be raised the way you should have been. So I manipulated Derek into keeping you in the dark, knowing it would get you here. I’m surprised it took as long as it did. I knew it would only be a matter of time before you both set each other off. Oh to be young and full of opportunity again. I knew you would come to me, and ask me to watch Rylen while you two rolled around in the sheets, oblivious to everything around you. It was too easy. Like taking candy from a baby. Deucalion and I staged the whole thing. Derek killing him though, that was a bit unexpected. I had planned to do that myself, but oh well. It just makes killing Derek so much easier now.” Peter wrapped his hand around my throat, lifting me up off the floor. He turned his head back to where the Phoenix was standing. “Go get the boy. Kill the girl if you have to.” 

“No.” I growled, my eyes glowing again as I gripped Peter’s wrist. “No!” I kicked Peter, sending him flying back against the wall, creating a dent where he hit. 

I spun on my heel, running towards the stairs, only to run into Derek. 

“Where’s Peter?” He asked. His shirt was torn and there were blood stains all over him. 

“Living room. I’ve got the Phoenix.” I said before running up the steps. I heard Rylen scream, sending my instincts into overdrive. 

“Don’t touch my baby brother!” I heard her yell, just as I kicked in the door. 

Rylen had her teeth wrapped around the Phoenix’s hand, blood dripping across his skin. The Phoenix cried out, trying to get Rylen off. I growled, grabbing him from behind, Rylen letting go as soon as I had my hands on him. I threw him out of the room, his body crashing through the bannister and falling down the stairs. 

I looked back to Rylen and Grayson for a moment, making sure they were okay before heading down the stairs towards where the Phoenix was laying at the bottom. A howl ripping through the air stopped all of us. 

“What was that?” The Phoenix asked, getting up and looking out the still open door. 

“A True Alpha.” Peter said, appearing next to him. “Reinforcements.” 

Peter grabbed the back of my neck, slamming my head down into the stairs, making my see stars for a moment. 

“Hey.” I heard Derek said, his hands gentle as he rolled me over on my back, supporting my head as he did so. I could feel the blood running down the side of my face as he moved me, taking care not to jostle me too much. “Hey, it’s okay.” 

“Grayson? Where’s Grayson?” 

“Upstairs with Rylen still. Peter and the Phoenix are gone. Scott and the others are looking around the area for any sign of where they could have gone, but so far they haven’t found anything.” 

I groaned as I tried to sit up, my head swimming at the motion. “Are you okay?” 

“It’s not the first time Peter’s ever tried to kill me. Or even the second.” 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” I threw my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. “This is all my fault.” 

“No it’s not. We’ll figure this out. We always do.”


	24. Somethin' Bad About To Happen

I sat on the couch, feeding Grayson as Derek paced back and forth. Rylen was content between Stiles and Lydia beside me, while Liam, Kira and Malia all sat in chairs around us. Scott was looking out the window, all of us silent as everything that had happened just an hour ago settled in. 

I was the only one who had any trust left in Peter. Everyone else had barely trusted him in the first place, since the first time most of them saw him, he was an out of control alpha bent on revenge, who would take out anyone in his way, including his own nephew. Now he was an out of control beta who was angry his alpha status was taken from him and would kill his own nephew to become an alpha again. And the fact that he had conspired with Deucalion to kidnap my daughter and now was working with a Phoenix to try and kidnap my son was far too much for me. I was numb. 

“They’ll come back.” Scott said, turning away from the window to face us. “They won’t just leave something like this. They’ll strike when we least expect it.” 

“Or they’ll barge in, in the middle of the day when we are expecting it and catch us off guard.” Derek said, stopping his pacing. 

“Why are they after a baby anyways?” Malia asked. 

“Because Grayson isn’t a werewolf. He’s a Phoenix.” Derek said. 

“And Phoenix’s are a dying breed. And one being born is quite the occasion. They want to take him and raise him as their own. They don’t think a family of werewolves is capable of handling a Phoenix. Though, I don’t know why Peter would help them.” I said, shifting Grayson slightly in my arms. 

“He only would if it had some kind of gain for him. Some kind of position of power.” Derek said. 

“Or they promised him a chance to kill Derek for his alpha status.” Scott said. 

“That’s not something he’d pass up.” I said, looking back down at Grayson. 

“We need to be ready for the next time they attack. We know Peter will go for Derek, and the Phoenix wants Grayson. We don’t know if there’s more of them or if he’s calling for reinforcements.” Scott said. 

“For all we know we could have all five Phoenix’s on our doorstep the next time they see fit to try and break in again.” I said. 

“Then we need to be ready for the next time they attack.” 

“You don’t have to help us.” I said, looking at Scott. 

“Yes, we do. This pack is here to protect the town. And Peter and the Phoenix are a threat to the town. So we’re going to do what we can to protect it.” 

“We don’t even know what we’re up against.” Malia said. “Have any of us fought a Phoenix?” 

“Aurora did.” Derek said, all eyes suddenly on me. 

“Did it have any weak spots.” Scott asked. 

“No.” I shook my head. “I caught him with my claws, but he healed almost instantly. Deaton said they’re nearly indestructible unless they’re wounded fatally enough to the point they can’t heal.” 

“So what, drive a stake through his heart and get it stuck there so he can’t pull it out?” Stiles asked. 

“Pretty much.” 

We made plans through the day, Scott’s pack agreeing to spend the weekend with us to make sure we had backup in case they attacked again. I was on edge as I put Grayson in his crib in our room. Derek had moved the crib and Rylen’s mattress into our room so we would be close to them in case something happened. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something very bad was going to happen in the near future. Something very bad. Even as I laid in bed, I couldn’t shake the feeling. I tried to relax, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. 

“Relax.” Derek breathed, nuzzling against my shoulder, pressing a soft kiss to my skin. “We’ve got plenty of help in case something does happen. But I doubt they would attack so soon. They ran with their tails in between their legs when they realized we had reinforcements coming.” 

“But what if they’re getting reinforcements of their own?” I asked, rolling on my back so I could see Derek. “I could barely hold off one Phoenix, what if they bring all five next time?” 

“Shh.” Derek placed a finger on my lips and I fought back tears. “Don’t think too much about it.” He cupped my cheek, rubbing the skin with his thumb. “We’ll be okay. We’ve had to fight off worse things.” 

Derek leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss against my lips. I tried to reassure myself with what he said, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I knew it was a slim chance that we would make it out of this, but it was a chance we had to take. We were going to go down fighting for our children’s safety, and we had a pack that would stand with us. That had to count for something, right?


	25. The Final Fight

Of course, if you were going to attack a pack of werewolves, and other creatures, you'd do it on a Monday, right? The worst day of the week made worse by a Phoenix and a vengeful werewolf. We had do idea when they arrived, one of the perks of being a Phoenix I guess. Something to look forward to. Thankfully we already had our plan figured out.

**24 Hours Earlier**

"So our main goal is to keep Grayson safe. If they get him, we'll probably never see them again." Scott said from his spot at the head of the dining table.

"So we keep him and Rylen upstairs in our room. It'll be the hardest to get to him up there." Derek said, looking around the table before his eyes landed on me last.

Stiles had opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Derek and I looked at each other while Scott went to see who it was. There were three heartbeats, one human and two werewolf. They didn't say anything as Scott greeted them, letting them in. I turned as their footsteps approached the dining room.

"Argent." Derek said, straightening up beside me.

"I heard you needed some help."

"Argent?" I asked.

"Kate's brother. Chris." Derek said, nodding to the older man.

"And I brought reinforcements of my own." Chris said, stepping out of the doorway.

Two teenage boys entered the dining room. Both were tall, but one had curly blonde hair and the other had a cocky look to him.

"Jackson?" Lydia asked, an unsure feeling coming from her direction.

"Isaac?" Derek said, moving forward to the curly haired teen.

"Yeah, I came as soon as Argent called. Picked Jackson up from London and came here as quick as we could." Isaac said.

"Now we've got a decent chance at holding our own against the Phoenix." Scott said. "So here's the plan." Everyone gathered around the dining room table. "Derek, Isaac, Jackson, Liam, Argent and I will be keeping watch outside. Our main defense is keeping them out of the house. Malia and Kira will stay upstairs in front of Derek's room. If things turn ugly outside, then it's your job to keep them out of Derek's room. Lydia, Stiles, and Aurora will stay with Rylen and Grayson, and only will attack if they get into the room. Everyone understand?" We all nodded. "Good. Now, we have to be ready. We don't know when they're going to attack, or how they will, so the minute anyone hears anything, our plan goes into action."

We all spread ourselves out, waiting for them to attack. It was tense in the house, everyone on edge about what was going to happen. Because it could go either way. We didn't know if the eleven of us stood a chance against a Phoenix. Peter would be no problem. It was the Phoenix that worried everyone. We didn't know if it would even be just one. Could we hold off all five? Or would it all be in vain. I tried not to think of that as I sat by Rylen and Grayson's beds in our room, watching over them. It was late into the night and a lot of the pack were asleep. Scott and Derek were still up, keeping watch. Rylen tossed and turned in bed, so I laid down on the mattress next to her, letting her cuddle up to my side. She knew what was going on, and she was nervous as well. She understood a lot for a five year old. She also understood that she needed to protect her little brother. She may not have understood why, but she had bravely taken a bite out of the Phoenix's hand to protect her brother, the inner werewolf starting to show. She was still too young to shift, but some things were starting to change in her. She'd be strong like her dad, and her grandmother. She'd make a great alpha one day, further down the road of course. I wasn't about to rush that.

I didn't know I had fallen asleep until the sunlight streaming in the window woke me up. Everything was quiet around the house, save for the twelve heartbeats and the steady aroma of anxiety that had settled in last night. I stretched, Rylen rolling away from me as I moved. I checked on Grayson, finding him fast asleep as well before I moved to sit on the edge of my bed. Footsteps came up the stairs, Derek's scent wafting up in front of him. I didn't move as he came in, settling down beside me on the bed, looking at our two children before looking at me. He handed me a bottle of formula for Grayson. I had snacks for Rylen in case she got hungry during all of this.

"I hate this." I said quietly, glancing at Rylen before looking to Derek. "I hate having to fight for our child. It's not fair. We shouldn't have to risk our lives, and the lives of a bunch of teenagers just to keep our son safe with us."

"I know. It's not fair. But we don't have a choice. That's the price for being a supernatural creature. Danger follows us everywhere, and it was only a matter of time before something went wrong."

"Sometimes it feels like we're cursed." I said, placing my head on his shoulder.

"I know. I feel the same way." He took my hand, lacing our fingers together.

It was quiet in between us before Liam broke that silence downstairs.

"They're coming!"

The entire house erupted into chaos as everyone got in their positions. I grabbed Derek's arm, pulling him close to me, giving him a deep kiss.

"For good luck." I whispered, pulling back slightly.

Derek cupped my face again, his hand tangling in my hair as he kissed me harder, not knowing if we'd make it out of this.

"Go get 'em, tiger." I said after he pulled away.

He looked down at Rylen who had sat up in bed, the commotion waking her. She was still bleary eyed, her hair three sheets to the wind. Grayson had started stirring.

"I'll be back." He squeezed my hand before disappearing out the door, Stiles and Lydia shutting it behind him.

I sat down on the mattress next to Rylen.

"Is Daddy coming back?" She asked me.

"Of course he is. Everything's going to be okay." I smoothed down her hair, trying to comfort her as best as I could. "You just stay here with me and Aunt Lydia, okay?"

Lydia sat down on the opposite end of the mattress, Rylen immediately scooting closer to her. Stiles sat in the chair in the corner by the door, metal baseball bat in hand. I picked Grayson up from his crib as he started to whine a little. I sat back down, offering him the bottle which he took greedily.

"You and Derek really love each other." Lydia said, looking over at me as we leaned back against Grayson's crib.

"Yeah. It's funny, we hated each other when we first met. But then the tragedy with the fire and then the maturity of age changed things. We just kinda said one day that we loved each other and everything went from there. And now here we are. Two kids and having to fight for our own safety."

Everything went silent as I listened to what was happening outside. Derek was trying to talk Peter out of doing something he'd regret. I knew he had to come to terms with the fact he might have to kill Peter. It was hard for him, because deep down Peter was family. The only family he had left besides Cora and Malia. Peter had been there for Derek, helped him through the years, but it had all been for his own gain. And now it might all be coming to an end.

There was only one Phoenix that came, the same one as before. I recognized his voice as Scott tried to reason with him. But the Phoenix was relentless and the fight started. I tried to block out as much as I could, focusing on the most important part: heartbeats. As long as the pack still had heartbeats, I had hope. I didn't want to have to explain to a parent how their teenager died trying to protect me and my son.

The fighting went on for a while, neither the Phoenix or Peter showing signs of fatigue. The smell of blood and gunpowder hitting my senses hard. I closed my eyes, listening to Derek as he fought Peter. I knew he was holding back, trying to talk some sense into Peter, but nothing was working. Peter was fighting to kill. Peter wanted Derek's alpha status, and in his blind rage, he'd kill his own nephew for it.

I sat up straight as I heard a car approaching.

"What is it?" Lydia asked. Rylen had fallen back asleep at her side.

"Sirens. A police car. It's coming to the house."

"Who's inside?" Stiles asked.

"I don't know...two men. One...one's not human."

Lydia sat up a little straighter. "Jordan."

I was going to ask who that was, when something happened. There was a crash as the door was broken off its hinges.

"What was that?" Stiles asked, sitting up on the edge of the chair.

"That was the door." I said, getting to my feet, putting Grayson back in his crib.

I heard Malia's growl as she jumped down the stairs, attacking the Phoenix.

"Stay here." I said, opening the door. No one else was getting hurt for me. This was my fight.

"Wait! That's not part of the-" I cut Lydia off as I closed the door, moving to stand at the top of the stairs as the Phoenix threw Malia and Kira off to the side.

He smiled up at me, his body igniting again. "Come to play?"

"You will not touch my children." I said, standing my ground as he slowly stalked up the stairs.

"Yes, you've told me that already. And you've made your point very clear. Too bad you can't protect them when you're dead."

I felt a burning rage rip through me and I kicked at the Phoenix as he jumped at me, hitting him right in the chest, sending him tumbling back down the stairs. He laughed as he hit the first floor landing, his laughing continuing as he got back to his feet.

"You'll never stop me."

I started down the stairs, making it halfway when arms wrapped around the Phoenix, the fire seeming to have no effect on them.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." A voice I hadn't heard before said.

A hand went to the Phoenix's heart, a cry leaving the Phoenix as the hand sunk into his skin, reappearing with a heart in its fingers. I watched open-mouthed as the Phoenix seemed to ignite even more, the flames almost to the ceiling as it disintegrated into ash, along with the heart in the stranger's hand.

I finally got a good look at the stranger who was now standing naked in the entryway of the house. His skin was streaked with black where the fire had touched him, but otherwise he was totally unharmed. His eyes burned orange for a moment before they faded, turning a light green.

"And who are you?" I asked, still halfway down the stairs.

He looked up at me, a kind look in his eyes. "Deputy Jordan Parrish, ma'am."

"Right." I said. So this was 'Jordan.' "Well, thank you for helping." I said, motioning towards the ashes that were piled at the bottom of the steps. "Would you like a towel...or something?" I said, motioning down towards him.

"Oh, right. That would be great."

I went to the hall closet, grabbing a couple towels before knocking on the door to the room.

"It's okay. You can come out now."

I went down the stairs, handing the towels to Jordan before going outside. Sheriff Stilinski had shown up with Jordan, and was now talking to Chris. Jackson, Isaac, Liam and Scott were checking each other over for injuries. Derek was standing away from the group, his fists clenched as he started at Peter's body.

I went over to him, just barely getting there before he fell to his knees.

"Hey." I knelt in front of him, blocking his view of Peter's body. "Hey, look at me."

There was such sorrow in his eyes as he looked at me. I hadn't seen that much since the fire. I didn't say anything, just pulled him into my arms, lacing my fingers in his hair as he held on to me. He was shaking as I held him in my arms, everyone giving us our space.

"It's okay. It's over. We're safe finally." I whispered in his ear, running my fingers through his hair. I heard pounding footsteps on the steps and looked up as Rylen came running towards us.

She wrapped her arms around Derek's back, leaning her head in between his shoulder blades. Lydia stood on the porch, holding Grayson. I smiled at her, nodding my thanks as Rylen and I held Derek. We were safe again. Nothing was going to tear us apart. Not now, and not ever.


	26. Aftermath, The Epilogue

Things went somewhat back to normal after the Phoenix was defeated. The pack returned to school, Jackson and Isaac returning to their respective countries, though they promised to visit often.

Derek had held a small funeral for Peter, burning his body this time instead of burying it, in case he tried to bring himself back to life a third time. Derek and I took the kids on a trip to the coast, Derek sprinkling Peter, and the Phoenix's ashes in the ocean. It was illegal, but compared to some of the stuff we'd done, it was nothing.

Grayson was growing fast as summer came, Rylen officially out of school. Derek fixed the front door and the other minor damages that had happened in the fight with the Phoenix. We tried to put it behind us, working with Grayson instead on his powers. Rylen even helped us sometimes, calming her brother down when he went through an episode.

We had gained a babysitter in Lydia, who offered to give us nights off so Derek and I could have some time to ourselves. We needed it after all the things we'd been through. From Deucalion to Peter and the Phoenix we were pooped. It was one thing to threaten us, it was another to threaten our children. We made that very clear.

Deputy Parrish had become a good friend of ours, especially after his involvement with killing the Phoenix. He was a good babysitter as well, with his ability to hold and comfort Grayson during one of his episodes. Derek and I could do it, but it was painful and neither of us could last long. Jordan was quickly becoming a part-time nanny because of that.

Scott called us in to help with a couple threats, though he left us mostly to ourselves. He only called us if he was desperate, knowing we had other responsibilities besides the safety of Beacon Hills. He had his pack for that, and we were grateful for our privacy.

We stayed in Beacon Hills for a long time. Rylen grew up fast, Derek and I helping her through her first full moon. It was something else, that was for sure. Grayson didn't feel the effects of the moon, his powers more linked to his emotions. Something we could relate to, though. Derek and I had four more children after Grayson. Fraternal wins Ryker and Rowan, Garrett and the newest baby, Gemma. All four were werewolves like us.

Grayson had started to feel out of place with his all werewolf family, but both Derek and I reassured him it was okay to be different. He was unique and that made him all the more special. We didn't tell him until he was older that he'd probably outlive his entire family, knowing he was having enough problems with insecurities. He didn't need that information added on as well.

Scott's pack all graduated high school, all of them leaving Beacon Hills to go to school. The protection of the town fell back to the Hale pack, and we were ready. Nothing was going to get away with causing mayhem in Beacon Hills. Not if we could stop it. After all, that's what we did. We protected those who could not protect themselves. We were predators, not killers. It was our job to protect the innocent in Beacon Hills. And that's what we did.


End file.
